The evidence left no doubt that Bobby Gene Palmer was guilty.

Videotapes seized from his home clearly identify the 40-year-old

father raping his 12-year-old daughter. Jailhouse recordings document him working through his family to pressure the girl and possibly influence her testimony.

About the story

Ashley is not the real name of the girl in this story.

She asked to be identified, but The Oregonian generally shields the identity of sex-abuse victims -- especially children -- to protect their privacy and security. Reporter Steve Mayes followed her case through the judicial system and investigated the story through interviews, court documents and public records.

Sunday:

Monday:

Confronting her father

, Palmer's attorney asked for a delay. Time was needed to evaluate Palmer's mental stability, the attorney said. Palmer contended his behavior was affected by drug use, depression, a head injury and sexual molestation he experienced as a child.

Palmer had the right to request more time. And his daughter, Ashley, had a victim's right to be heard.

She had not seen her father since his arrest three months earlier. When the time came for her to speak, she could not find her voice. "She didn't think she could do it," said prosecutor Shannon Kmetic, who read Ashley's statement to the judge.

Ashley sat in a folding chair in the corner. She could see Kmetic but not her father.

She wept as her words were read.

"I love my dad to death, and he needs to say, 'Yes I did it,' because I can't handle it anymore. It is killing me," Ashley wrote. "My whole body is hurting. I am only 12 years old. I'm too young to be having to do this."

Clackamas County Circuit Court Presiding Judge Steven L. Maurer denied Palmer's request for a mental evaluation.

The judge said transcripts of jailhouse conversations between Palmer and his family show he was lucid, aware of his circumstances and hungry for information about Ashley's impending testimony. "A girl of tender years being subject to enormous pressure," Maurer observed.

Ashley was determined to bear that pressure and hold her father accountable.

Despite her tears, she was ready for the trial. Prepared to face jurors and tell them the unpleasant truth. Yes, that's me and my father on all those videos.

That wouldn't be necessary.

Palmer's defense had crumbled.

Just two hours later, he pleaded guilty to nine counts of rape, avoiding the prospect of trial on more than 50 sex-crime charges.

Ashley believes she was the reason he quit fighting.

"He pled guilty because I told him to. He knows he's going to lose. I know it. He knows it was all true," she told The Oregonian. "This time he was doing what I said."

The judge scheduled sentencing for Dec. 2, and Ashley would be there.

"I want to see it with my own eyes."

When the time came, she would speak for herself.

"She knew this was probably the last time she would see her dad,"Kmetic said. "She knew it was her last chance."

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Listen to Ashley confront her father in court:

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.

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What is fair?

As prosecutor Shannon Kmetic prepared a sentencing recommendation, she considered several questions. What is fair? What is just? What did Bobby Gene Palmer deserve?

Child abuse hotlines

If you see a child in immediate danger, call 9-1-1.

Report non-emergency suspicion or evidence of child-abuse to the state Department of Human Services, local law enforcement or state police. Most Oregon counties also have child-abuse hotlines:

Multnomah: 503-731-3100, 1-800-509-5439

Washington: 503-681-6917, 1-800-275-8952

Clackamas: 971-673-7112

For number for other counties or additional information, visit www.oregon.gov/DHS/children/abuse.

Palmer admitted to nine counts of rape, but there was clear evidence of at least 50 crimes and possibly hundreds more. "The nine counts is a sliver of what he's done to this little kid," Kmetic said. "Which one doesn't count? Which one does he get a pass on?"

Palmer's indifference also weighed on Kmetic.

"I was hoping ... that there would be one time where Bobby Gene Palmer would say, 'I cannot believe what I did to my daughter. I am disgusted with myself,'" Kmetic said.

Instead, jailhouse recordings show Palmer expressing little interest in his daughter's welfare while lamenting his predicament. "I've lost a lot of things. My boat, my car, my dog, my tools, my fishing equipment," Palmer tells his mother. "I just want to go home and go fishing."

Palmer should be sentenced to 408 years, she would tell the judge.

'Now I get to be a kid'

Ashley, her hair in a ponytail, wore a black dress to the sentencing.

She wrote a statement in pencil on notebook paper. It began like a letter from summer camp.

"I am doing fine. I am in a good home. I am loving my school. I am getting a lunch buddy," she started. "I wish I could go in the past and be happy. I wish I could say I don't have nightmares. ... I want everything to be OK but it's not.

"I am in a good place, and you are in a place that you will be watched," Ashley said to her father. "Now I get to be a kid."

She spoke without bitterness and ended in grace.

"No matter what, I still love you. Remember, I am still your daughter, and I always will be. As long as I live, you will always be in my heart."

Bobby Gene Palmer looked at his daughter as she read her statement -- sometimes looking down, sometimes closing his eyes.

When his turn came, Palmer showed no remorse.

"I love my daughter," he said. "I never meant to do any harm. I'm a loving parent."

The final words belonged to the judge.

"Mr. Palmer, I have been practicing law for over 30 years and ... it is seldom I find myself almost without words. It defies description that you can utter the words that you love your kids and will always be their dad," Maurer said. "The horror of this is you have never been her dad.

"I'm going to sentence you to 700 months in prison. You will not likely ever get out."

Next: Despite Palmer's 58-year sentence, prosecutor Shannon Kmetic decides she needs to do more.

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