Sex, Money and Meth Addiction

Witness Describes Sex Scenes in Dasen Home

By Hal Herring, 4-30-05

The first of the underage witnesses in the trial of Richard Dasen took the stand Friday. Now a seventeen-year-old high school student, she's a diminutive and beautiful young woman, with long blond hair held back in a twist. She looks much younger than her age. She answered prosecutor Dan Guzynski’s questions in a small but unwavering voice, her innocent appearance a shattering contrast to the story she related. When she took the oath late in the day on Friday, the courtroom was exhausted from hours of contentious cross-examination of Leah Marshall, the first woman to testify against Dasen, the once-prominent Kalispell businessman who faces 14 criminal charges for allegedly luring numerous women and girls into sex-for-money transactions.

The seventeen-year-old witness (New West has chosen not to publish her name and will refer to her as Ms. K) said that in the fall of 2003 she was introduced to Dick Dasen by friends, including one who is also named as an underage witnesses in the case. Ms. K said she lives with her father, but he pays only for her living expenses, and "Christmas was coming up and I needed money.�

When asked by Guzynski how she had been told that she could get money from Dasen, she replied.�It was my understanding that we would have some kind of sex in exchange for money.� Guzynski asked about her appearance at that time. “Did you have some dental work?�
“I had braces.�

“And did you have rubber bands on them?�

“Yes�

“What color were the rubber bands?�

“They were bright pink.�

Ms. K said that she, her friend (whom New West will call Ms. V), and another teenage male friend rented a room at the Motel Six and spent the night. “The next morning, V contacted Mr. Dasen. It was early, maybe seven or eight.� The male friend left. Dasen arrived a short time later. “She and Mr. Dasen got undressed and began touching. Then Mr. Dasen performed oral sex on me and penetrated me with his tongue and used a sex toy.� Ms. K said that for this encounter, which lasted about twenty minutes, the two girls received a check for $2000, which they split.

A few days later, she testified, another meeting occurred. “This agreement was that V and I would do things with each other. This next time we went to Mr. Dasen’s house.� The visit was complicated because V’s car broke down on the way, Ms. K explained, but V called Dasen and he came and picked them up and drove them to the house. After undressing, she said, Mr. Dasen asked if it would be alright with them if he got the camera. “I didn’t think it was a good idea, but V did, she said we could get more money for it.�

The photos that resulted were passed out to the jury, while Guzynski continued his questions. “Where in the house did this occur?�

“In his grandchildren’s bedroom.�

“How did you feel about that?�

“Awful, because you shouldn’t do things like that in the grandchildren’s room.�

Ms. K said that she had initially lied to the police when questioned about the encounters, because she did not want her father to know about them. She told the truth, she said, after they showed her the photos taken at Dasen’s house. “I felt horrible because I knew they’d probably shown them to my dad.�

The courtroom was absolutely silent as the photos were passed from juror to juror, and it remained that way until Judge Stadler called for a recess until Monday.

Ms. K’s appearance followed four hours of cross-examination of the State’s first female witness, 23 year old Leah Marshall.

Under extensive questioning from Dan Guzynski, Marshall had related a long story of a broken life, of drugs and wandering, and the search for her father that brought her to Montana, and then to the homeless shelters and streets of Kalispell, Columbia Falls, Coram. For the prosecution, it was important to establish that since leaving the Flathead Valley, and the connection to Dasen and his money, Marshall has created a life: stayed away from drugs, gotten a steady job, is about to be married. There is little question that the basis for that new start was Marshall’s treatment for drug addiction at the Sundown Ranch, which was paid for by Dick Dasen. Dasen also paid for her boyfriend, now her fiancee, to enter the treatment program. Dasen also bailed Marshall out of jail at one point, paying a $20,000 bail, and hired a lawyer to represent her, paying another $5000.

Marshall’s account of her life and her relationship with Dasen seemed to be fertile ground for defense attorney George Best to establish her as an extraordinarily unreliable witness.

Best asked, “Is it fair to say that during 2003 every one of your friends was a drug user?�

Marshall: “No, I had all kinds of friends…�

Best : “Did you use alcohol?�

Marshall: “Yes.�

Best: “What other drugs, during the time you were associated with Dick Dasen?�

Marshall reeled off a list of substances, including Oxycontin, Lortab, meth, and others.

Best, “You were using all those things? Is it fair to say that you don’t remember the year 2003?�

Marshall: “I don’t understand.�

Best: “Did it affect your brain?�

Marshall: “Yes.�

Best “Did it affect your memory?�

Marshall, “It could’ve.�

But most of Best’s energy was spent trying to show that Marshall was under severe pressure from law enforcement to serve as a witness against his client, since she has various arrests, for shoplifting and forgery, and although she admitted to her relationship with Dick Dasen, she has never been charged with prostitution.

Best: “Is it fair to say that you have zero worries about being charged due to your activities with Dick Dasen?�

Marshall: “Yes. There was a time when I was worried about it.�

Best “When was that?�

Marshall: “I think if they were going to charge me they would have already done it.�

Best: “Were you feeling like you were off the hook when you met me in November?�

Marshall: “They would have already charged me if they were going to.�

In another exchange, Best refers to a time following Marshall’s arrest for forgery. “What was your situation when you were sitting there with your probation officer? What were you facing?�

Marshall: “Six years.�

“What happens if your probation officer recommends that you are not cooperating? Could you be sent to jail?�

Marshall: “I don’t know.�

Best, showing her a transcript of her police interview. “Look at this page, where Officer Roger Nassett says, “You are one of the few that’s not being honest, but you are on probation and if you want to take your chances, that’s up to you.�

Best reads from the transcript, “Your boyfriend will be involved too, because there are checks written to him.�

Later, referring to this and other exchanges, best asked “Have you lied?� Marshall: “Yes.�
Best: “Have you lied to get drugs?� Marshall: “Yes.� “Did you refuse to raise your right hand in an interview with me?� A question that produced a thunderous response from Guzynski, who leaped to his feet and and said, “Objection! She was under no obligation to be under oath at your interview!� Judge Stadler said “Objection noted.� And Best continued, “But you have lied under oath to Officer Roger Nassett?� and Marshall answered, “Yes.� But some of the power of the exchanges was lessened as Marshall explained, over and over, that the reason she lied to police during early interviews was because she was extremely afraid of the felony charges that would result if she condfessed her relationship with Dick Dasen. “I felt like I was in danger of being charged with new felonies because of my involvement with Mr. Dasen. I felt threatened. That’s why I wasn’t being honest.�

The last hour of the cross examination was the toughest, and exhaustion showed. After pointing out that Dasen had paid a bail of $20,000 to get her out of jail, and then paid another $5000 for a lawyer to represent her Best asked: “You resolved not to see Mr. Dasen again because of your relationship with Ryan. What did you tell him that relationship was?�

Marshall: “Ryan always wondered what our relationship was, but at some point when Mr. Dasen confronted me with making a videotape, right before he cut me off in the fall…�

“You and Ryan had a conversation about Mr. Dasen?�

“Ryan was working at the Outlaw Inn as a busboy and as a night manger at Taco Time. I was working at Heritage Place, and we couldn’t make it. We discussed me seeing Mr. Dasen again, and we decided it would be alright if we just looked at it as a job…�

Best interrupts, “Could you tell this jury as a result of your efforts or Mr. Dasen…�

Marshall continued, without a pause, but crying, barely able to talk, “for the longest time I could not answer this question, because I felt indebted to Mr. Dasen. But now I feel like I put one foot in front of the other, keep my head up….� She sobbed, “I don’t feel like he’s a bad man, I just want this to be over.�

Click here to read Hal Herring's six-part series on the Dasen case.

Like this story? Get more! Sign up for our free newsletters.