Ex-Prosser mayor Lusk pleads guilty in child molestation case

KENNEWICK — Linda Lusk cried Friday as she told a judge she is guilty of molesting a teenage boy who had stopped by her Prosser home during his lunch hour during an early-release day from school.

The admission and the emotional reaction from the former Prosser mayor was a bright spot in the day for the victim and his family, who have endured numerous court hearings and extensive media coverage in the past year.

“In their mind it was a very happy day,” said Benton County Prosecutor Andy Miller, who was given permission to share their comments.

Lusk was booked into the Benton County jail Friday afternoon after pleading guilty to third-degree child molestation, a felony.

Her sentencing is set for July 8 in Benton County Superior Court. Miller said he will recommend three months behind bars, which can be done on work release.

The law requires that people who have been convicted of a felony sex offense be taken into custody immediately. So even though she has yet to be sentenced, she began serving her time in the work release program Friday.

The felony conviction means Lusk, who owns a retail shop in Prosser, will have to register as a sex offender for 10 years. Miller said it was important to the victim’s family and the sheriff’s office who investigated the case that Lusk be convicted of a felony so she would have that requirement.

Defense lawyers Jim Egan and Larry Stephenson said little during the hearing and couldn’t be reached later Friday about the case.

Lusk, 50, originally was charged in the molestation last June, two months after authorities said the sexual contact happened at her home.

In an interview with a defense expert, Lusk admitted to inappropriately touching the 14-year-old boy.

He had stopped by her home “to have her sign a community service form,” court documents said. “Mrs. Lusk said this was not a planned event, and she said the instant (she touched him), she knew what she was doing was wrong, and became upset with herself, and left the room.”

In January, prosecutors amended the charges to include third-degree rape of a child and communicating with a minor for immoral purposes. That came after allegations she had exchanged sexually explicit text messages with the teen.

On Friday, Miller said the deal he had reached with the defense was for the child molestation. That was consistent with the original offer prosecutors made when the case was filed, he said.

The other two charges will be dismissed at her sentencing.

Lusk opted to enter an Alford plea, meaning she denied committing the crime but believed prosecutors had enough evidence to convict her.

However, when Judge Carrie Runge asked her to enter a plea, a tearful Lusk responded: “Guilty, your honor.”

The plea documents said statements Lusk made to Benton County sheriff’s Detective Lee Cantu and defense expert Randy Ruegsegger were true.

“I did not intend sexual gratification,” she wrote. “A jury that believed the state’s witness could find me guilty.”

The victim, who didn’t attend Friday’s hearing, was represented by several relatives who nodded their heads in favor of the agreement. Miller said he went to Prosser this week to meet with the boy and his family to thoroughly discuss the offer.

“This is being done at his request,” Miller said, noting that the boy is a different and changed person this past year. “There’s been a lot of pressure on him. He has a strong desire for there to be a guilty plea on this case instead of going to trial.”

Miller, though, added that if the case had not been resolved before the trial, the teen was ready to testify against Lusk.

Miller acknowledged that even though the boy was not the one to report the crime -- possibly because he anticipated what would happen with the media attention -- he knew Lusk needed to be held accountable and felt strongly about her being charged with a felony.

After Friday’s 15-minute hearing, Miller again met with the boy’s family. The teen’s grandmother said it was “the happiest she felt in a long time,” his brother expressed happiness with the resolution and his mother kept saying she “can’t believe how good it feels that it’s over,” Miller recounted.

“I thought (Lusk’s) demeanor in court today was appropriate and the victim’s family thought so too. She showed the right amount of emotion, whether or not she was remorseful about what happened to her or to the family,” he added.

The standard sentence for a person convicted of third-degree child molestation, without a felony record, is six to 12 months in jail.

The recommended sentence for Lusk is below that range because a Spokane psychologist who evaluated Lusk found she has a mental disorder caused by depression, Miller said. The disorder, which doesn’t fall to the level of diminished capacity, is traced back to the long-term care of her disabled son and his death in March 2009 at the age of 15, he said.

That meets the criteria for state guidelines in that “her capacity to appreciate the wrongfulness of her conduct was impaired,” court documents said.

Miller said this was explained to the victim’s family. “This is not an excuse for her behavior for what she did, but it is something the law says is appropriate for the judge to consider,” he said.

Miller told the court that his recommendation for Lusk is comparable to other defendants in third-degree child molestation cases. He named four cases with male defendants where they received 30 days to six months in jail. Two of those cases were reduced to communicating with a minor for immoral purposes.

“She’s being treated like everybody else in that same situation,” he said.

Lusk and her lawyers previously met with jail officials to get her approved for work release.

On the program, inmates sleep in the jail but are allowed to leave for a scheduled time to work if they already hold a job. She is the owner of a handbag boutique in Prosser called Get a Grip.

Miller said the program allows offenders to keep their job to pay their court fines and costs.

His recommendation also calls for the jail program to consider Lusk’s “medical and emotional counseling needs” when setting her schedule, court documents showed.

The sentencing is set in seven weeks so the state Department of Corrections can complete a presentencing report.

* Kristin M. Kraemer: 509-582-1531; kkraemer@tricityherald.com

This story was originally published May 21, 2011 at 12:00 AM.