Man gets prison in child-sex case

Tulsa World - August 8, 2003

Man gets prison in child-sex case

By BILL BRAUN World Staff Writer

Published: 8/8/2003  4:32 AM

Last Modified: 8/28/2008  6:14 AM

A former Tulsa physician who confessed to multiple sex crimes against a child relative was sentenced Thursday to 20 years in prison.

James Loerke was charged 10 1/2 months ago with four counts of sexually abusing a girl between August 1998 and Dec. 31, 2001.

With no agreement with prosecutors governing punishment, he pleaded guilty June 13.

Tulsa County Associate District Judge Caroline Wall sentenced Loerke to 20 years in prison.

She agreed to review the case in a year, when she will have the option of modifying some or all of that sentence to a probationary period.

Loerke, 45, gets credit on his punishment for time spent in jail since his Sept. 24 arrest.

He surrendered his license as an osteopathic physician in September, a spokeswoman with the state Board of Osteopathic Examiners said.

The girl is now 11. In court Thursday, Loerke said that when he was first questioned by police, he was "confused" and "tried to justify some actions."

He said he previously indicated that he "thought we were both responsible, although I was totally responsible."

The victim "didn't do anything other than act like a little girl," Loerke testified.

While carrying a heavy patient caseload, "I wasn't taking care of my internal needs," he said.

Assistant District Attorney Brandon Whitworth said that "this isn't about Dr. Loerke's stress level."

Loerke sought mercy from the court, but Whitworth contended that the girl is not "getting any kind of probation for her emotional pain" suffered because of Loerke's actions.

Defense lawyer Scott Keith said Loerke has spent almost a year "in a self-imposed prison term," declining to post bail to get out of jail so that his family would have the money that could have been used for bond purposes.

A professional evaluation showed that Loerke ranks among "the lowest of the low" in terms of being a risk to offend again, and "I don't think Jim Loerke will ever, ever, ever be a problem for this community," Keith maintained.

But Whitworth said rehabilitation was not the only issue, adding that "there is a punishment aspect that has to be addressed" for what the prosecutor categorized as a serial molestation of the girl over an extended period.

Bill Braun 581-8455

bill.braun@tulsaworld.com