Denise Keesee pleads guilty

HILLSBORO, OREGON - FEBRUARY 10, 2014 - Denise Keesee, 39, a former Sherwood High School teacher, pleaded guilty to two counts of second degree sexual abuse in Washington County Court. Benjamin Brink/Staff Photographer

There was "bad blood" between Sherwood Police Officer Adam Keesee and a teenage boy who claimed to have had sex with the cop's wife, according to the Clackamas County District Attorney's Office.

The cop acted unprofessionally in his dealings with the teen, but he didn't commit any crimes, Deputy District Attorney Bryan Brock wrote in a charging decision, dated Feb. 13 and made public Wednesday. "Officer Keesee's conduct was motivated by personal gain and designed to harm (the teen)," the decision says.



Keesee was investigated on allegations that included harassment, intimidation and official misconduct. Brock's memorandum provides the first description – from authorities -- of some of the teen's accusations against Keesee. Police never commented on the nature of the inquiry against the officer, who has been on leave since June.

The memo does not address what, if any, obligation Keesee had as a police officer to report the teen's claims involving his wife. Police officers and other officials are required under state law to report allegations of child abuse. Brock said Wednesday that the investigation did not address that issue.

State police, at the request of the Sherwood Police Department, in July started investigating claims brought by the teen, who is now in his twenties. The investigation began after he sent a tort claim notice to the city and Adam Keesee, police said.

Weeks earlier, in June, he had filed a lawsuit against Keesee's wife, Denise, a former teacher at Sherwood High School, and the school district. The pending $5.1 million lawsuit filed in Washington County alleges that Denise Keesee, 39, sexually abused him; her husband intimidated and harassed him; and that the school failed to report the abuse.

Also in June, the teen was named as one of two victims in a criminal sex abuse case against Denise Keesee, who taught at Sherwood High when both boys attended the school. Denise Keesee was first investigated for possible misconduct with students in 2008, according to court records. But she was not charged at that time.

Denise Keesee pleaded guilty in Washington County last week to second-degree sex abuse against the victim who is not suing her. In a plea agreement, all other charges were dismissed.

Adam Keesee remains on paid administrative leave, while Sherwood police conduct an internal review.

"Like the Sherwood Police Department, we are very pleased that the state police did such a thorough investigation, and, as we always expected, he was cleared of criminal charges," Dan Thenell, an attorney representing Adam Keesee, said in a statement. "We look forward to him quickly going back to work."

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Adam Keesee

State police investigated the teen’s claims against Adam Keesee as well as allegations made by the father of a Sherwood High School student that involved the officer.

The man alleged that Adam Keesee pulled him and another parent over in 2006 and 2007 “for no reason other than to intimidate them in response to action they took,” the memo says. Brock said Wednesday that the father claimed the traffic stops occurred after he complained about Adam Keesee.

Brock declined to prosecute the claims, without considering their validity, because the alleged misconduct occurred outside the statute of limitations for the crimes.

The remainder of Brock’s memo details claims made by the former student who is suing Denise Keesee.

His allegations about Adam Keesee occurred from March 2007 to April 2009. Only some were eligible for possible prosecution because of the statute of limitations.

On Feb. 13, 2009, the former student was arrested by a police officer on an accusation that he possessed marijuana. The teen made a complaint that the investigating officer didn’t want to take him into custody, but Adam Keesee told the officer over the police radio to arrest him.

The claim reportedly is not supported by other evidence. All parties, however, agree on the facts of what occurred when the former student was taken back to the Sherwood Police Department and placed in a holding cell, the memo says.

While the teen was in the holding cell, he was recorded on a monitor. Adam Keesee snapped a photograph, using his personal phone, of the teen on the monitor, the memo says. Adam Keesee sent the photo to his wife. Denise Keesee, a teacher at the time, then shared the picture with other students.

The teen made claims that he had sex with Adam Keesee’s wife, the memo says, and the officer was aware of the claims at the time he took the photo.

“There is little doubt in his motivation and his lack of professionalism in this conduct,” Brock wrote about Adam Keesee in the memo.

The teen filed a complaint with the police department within days. Sherwood police launched an internal inquiry.

The investigating sergeant found that Adam Keesee did not break any laws but violated department policy.

The specific policy violations were not noted. Counseling was recommended. The case was not reviewed for prosecution at the time.

"To warrant prosecution for Official Misconduct requires proof that the offender knowingly perform an act constituting an unauthorized exercise in his official duties AND that in performing that act he intended to obtain a benefit or harm another," the memo says. "Key to this analysis is an unauthorized act."

Adam Keesee used his personal phone to take the photo of the teen. The photo was not part of the criminal investigation involving the teen, the memo says, and the cop was not acting in his official capacity at the time. Brock said Wednesday that Adam Keesee was on duty when he snapped the photo.

The picture, Brock wrote, was not an “official photograph” under the department’s policy. Because Adam Keesee did not take the photograph while acting in his official capacity, a department policy related to the dissemination of information also was not applicable, Brock wrote.

“What Officer Keesee did was make a photo-copy of the holding cell video record,” Brock wrote. “He used his position of authority to gain access to an area that is not generally open to the public. He then used that record to harm another. What’s missing from this investigation is a policy that deals directly with Keesee’s conduct.”

State police could not locate a department policy that specifically applied to Adam Keesee’s actions. Absent a specific police policy violation, the memo says, official misconduct could not be charged.

“While his conduct is unprofessional and may fall under some general policy dealing with ethics and professionalism,” Brock wrote, “nothing specifically prohibits this conduct such that one could say Officer Keesee knowingly committed an unauthorized act.”

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Brock also reviewed another claim made by the former student against Adam Keesee. The allegations stemmed from an April 26, 2009 impaired driving investigation.

During the incident, a Sherwood police officer stopped the teen on suspicion that he was driving while intoxicated, the memo says. Adam Keesee responded as a cover officer.

The officer, who made the traffic stop, reportedly asked Adam Keesee what he should do with the teen, the memo says. Adam Keesee allegedly replied, “burn him.”

The teen did not have alcohol in his system during a breath test, the memo says, but police believed he was under the influence of marijuana.

State police did not find evidence that Adam Keesee had any “undue influence” during the investigation. The officer who stopped the teen had probable cause, according to the memo.

In his review, Brock noted that Adam Keesee had “significant and frequent” contact with the teen. State police documented that Keesee had seven contacts with the teen in 16 months.

Adam Keesee’s actions during some of the contacts, Brock wrote, appeared to have been “colored by the ‘bad blood’” that stemmed from the teen’s claims of having had sex with the officer’s wife.

During an interview with state police, Adam Keesee denied having frequent contact with the former student. He said the “bad blood” started after one occasion when the teen yelled at the officer. Adam Keesee told state police he couldn’t remember what the teen yelled.

State police found that Adam Keesee had recalled the teen’s words during an internal investigation in 2009. The officer was off-duty and walking with his wife when the boy yelled from a car window, “(Expletive) her… I did.”

Adam Keesee also described an incident during which statements about his wife were painted on a water tower. The statements are not detailed in the memo.

In his memo, Brock said it was clear that Adam Keesee wanted “to get back at” the teen. Brock determined, however, that crimes could not be proved.

“Despite all of this information contradicting Keesee’s claims,” Brock wrote. “I do not find that criminal charges are supported by the evidence.”

-- Rebecca Woolington and Emily E. Smith