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A hero to many for his years of gay-rights advocacy, Terry Bean faces a trial next month on criminal charges.

(Courtesy of Pacific Northwest Law LLP)

Terrence Patrick "Terry" Bean

Prominent Democratic fundraiser and gay activist Terry Bean, accused of sexual involvement with an underage boy, is trying to resolve the criminal case through a settlement with the alleged victim.

Bean has proposed a civil compromise that could result in the dismissal of the criminal charges, though the prosecutor in the case said he will fight the deal. A judge would have to approve the settlement.



A civil compromise usually includes restitution. The court filings do not say whether the boy would receive cash as part of the agreement.

Bean, 66, and his former boyfriend, Kiah Loy Lawson, are each charged with two counts of third-degree sodomy, a felony, and third-degree sexual abuse, a misdemeanor. They pleaded not guilty to the charges and are scheduled for trial Aug. 11.

Bean, a Portland resident, and Lawson, 25, are accused of having sex with a 15-year-old boy at a Eugene hotel on Sept. 27, 2013.

The boy said in an affidavit filed last week that he does not want to proceed with the criminal case.

"I did not desire to prosecute the defendant, Terrence Patrick Bean. I do not want the State of Oregon to prosecute defendant, Terrence Patrick Bean. I agree that all charges in the above-captioned matter should be dismissed with prejudice," the boy said in the affidavit.

Prosecutor Scott Healy said he would object to the proposal.

"We are adamantly opposed to a civil compromise in this case for reasons that we'll discuss in more detail at a hearing on Monday," Healy said.

Kiah Loy Lawson

Lane County Circuit Judge Charles M. Zennache will decide whether to approve the settlement.

The charges against Bean and Lawson stem from a larger Portland Police Bureau investigation of sexual encounters between men and boys in the Portland area.

Portland police launched an investigation of Bean and Lawson last year. At the time, the men were in the middle of a messy break up. It led to the charges out of Eugene.

Lawson claimed that Bean was secretly recording videos of sexual encounters between him and Bean and privately sought $40,000 in damages.

Bean went to police and the Multnomah County District Attorney's Office, asking them to investigate an alleged extortion plot involving Lawson.

Lawson's attorney at the time, Jeffrey Dickey, had once worked as an intern in the Multnomah County DA's Office and had unsuccessfully applied for a job there. The DA's Office, citing a conflict of interest, asked the Clackamas County District Attorney's Office to take over the prosecution and assigned Healy to the overall investigation, which later expanded to cases in Washington and Lane counties.

Bean has been one of the state's biggest Democratic donors and an influential figure in gay rights circles in the state. He helped found two major national political groups, the

and the Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund, and has been a major contributor for several Democratic presidential candidates, including Barack Obama.

-- Steve Mayes

503-294-5916; @ocmayes