Lawyer Is Charged In Sex-Abuse Case

Column: Lawyer Is Charged In Sex-Abuse Case

Author: Associated Press

SOURCE: Associated Press

PORT ANGELES, Wash. (AP) - A lawyer who adopted at least 16 children, most of them from Asia and Central America, has been charged with sexual abuse amid indications of ''wanton sexual activity'' at his home, a prosecutor said.

A 12-year-old blind girl from Guatemala told investigators she had been molested repeatedly by the man, Theadore E. Ripley, 46; by his adopted son, Kori Ripley, 30, a former reserve sheriff's deputy; and by at least one juvenile in the home, according to documents filed in Clallam County Superior Court.

Police are also investigating claims of sexual abuse by several children in Ripley's household, which once was praised in a nationwide broadcast by the Rev. Norman Vincent Peale, the documents said.

In the documents, county Prosecutor David H. Bruneau wrote that ''such disclosures by multiple victims and multiple abusers show a pattern of wanton sexual activity within that residence, and certainly tend to corroborate the continuing disclosures by the victim of the sexual abuse of her.''

Ripley's lawyer said, ''Ted adamantly denies the charges. We're hoping for a speedy resolution of the case, and we're confident that ultimately, the truth will come out.''