Detective’s Handling of Sex-Crimes Cases Under Scrutiny

Criminal defense attorneys plan to discuss tonight the possibility that a sheriff’s detective--the lead investigator on two sex-crimes cases that were recently dismissed--made mistakes in other cases.

Members of the Ventura County Defense Bar were alerted last week by Dist. Atty. Michael D. Bradbury that two cases handled by Sheriff’s Det. Kent Adlof contained errors and were dismissed.

“Although significant, these inaccuracies appear to be the result of misinterpretation by the detective and not a malicious effort to deceive,” Bradbury said in the letter.

But defense attorney Bruce Jones, who worked on one of the cases that was dismissed, said the errors were more than just a mere misinterpretation.

“[Adlof] said things happened in the interviews that didn’t happen,” Jones said Monday.

Adlof, who works out of the East County Sheriff’s Station, could not be reached for comment.

Jones, who was defending a man accused of rape, said he and his lead investigator spotted problems in the case about three months ago.

“The rape case was dismissed only after we investigated and found the discrepancies,” he said. The case was thrown out soon after the problems were uncovered.

Besides finding differences between videotaped witness interviews and Adlof’s written report of those interviews, Jones said, his investigators talked to a witness who had evidence about the credibility of the woman who said she was raped.

“Det. Adlof refused to listen to a witness that had information favorable to the defendant. He told [the witness] he wasn’t interested,” Jones said.

After Jones brought the information to the attention of the deputy district attorney handling the case, his client was released and charges against him were dropped.

And then last week, charges against Bill Clemens of Simi Valley were dropped after similar problems were found in the detective’s reports, said Clemens’ attorney, Philip Remington Dunn.

Clemens, a 29-year-old former director of a Thousand Oaks day camp, was arrested on suspicion of child molestation a month ago, but on March 16 charges against him were dropped after Dunn told prosecutors about what he found in his review of Adlof’s reports.

“I don’t know that we found discrepancies, but we did find a lot of evidence that was mitigating or exculpatory that he didn’t include in his report,” Dunn said.

It was this most recent case that prompted the district attorney to alert the Criminal Defense Bar, said Dunn, who is on the group’s board of directors.

“The steps that Mike Bradbury is taking in this situation are in the finest tradition of the criminal justice system,” Dunn said. “You’re obviously dealing with a D.A. who worries about the potential that someone may have been falsely accused and there may be evidence of that person’s innocence that was never provided.”

The biggest questions facing defense attorneys now are how many cases Adlof handled and how many of them have similar problems.

“We’re going to investigate this particular officer, and what he had to do with our cases,” said Public Defender Kenneth Clayman. Clayman said the public defender’s office is in the midst of compiling a list of the cases Adlof might have influenced.

“We are going to look at that, and assist Mr. Bradbury in his efforts,” Clayman said.

Sheriff’s Department officials confirmed Monday that they are conducting an internal affairs investigation into the matter, but would not say anything specific about the cases or Adlof.

“We want to know about it if there were mistakes made,” said Capt. Keith Parks, a department spokesman. “We want to know if there’s something missing or someone has been misquoted.”

Adlof, who could not be reached for comment, has worked as a sex-crimes investigator for several years. Before that, he worked as a senior deputy in the County Jail and as a patrol deputy in Moorpark, where he was known for his extensive knowledge of gangs, Parks said.

Late last year, Adlof was instrumental in putting together a case against a former nurse’s aide at Los Robles Regional Medical Center who allegedly fondled two women while they were under sedation. Adlof also helped put together the case against Chad Schmidt, 18, who is accused of a series of sexual assaults near Newbury Park High School in the fall of 1996. Schmidt’s trial is set to begin next month.

Times staff writer Hilary MacGregor contributed to this story.