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Grand Jury Indicts Men Charged In Sex With Teen
BY NANCY LARSON

The four men charged in December with having sexual contact with a West County teenage boy have been indicted by a grand jury investigating the charges.

On Jan. 22 the grand jury handed down indictments against Rolf Rathmann, 37; Andrew Buhr, 30; William Sandefur, 50; and Richard Bentrup, 55.

Rathmann is charged with eight counts of statutory sodomy in the second degree. Buhr, Sandefur, and Bentrup are charged with first-degree sodomy. The boy was 14 when he allegedly had contact with Rathmann, but only 13 when he met the other men; the age difference determines whether the charges are first- or second-degree.

Of the four, only Sandefur remains in the St. Louis County Jail. His $200,000 bail was reduced to a cash payment of $20,000 shortly after his arrest.

Rathmann, Buhr and Bentrup each pled not guilty during their Feb. 11 arraignments. Sandefur’s arraignment was continued until Feb. 25.

A prosecutor and a judge will soon be assigned to each case. The defense can then file for discovery, which allows them to examine for the first time the police reports in the case.

After that, the prosecution, the defense and the judge will meet to discuss specific offers by the state in each case. If the defense rejects an offer, that case would go to trial.

Prosecutors said three of the men met the boy through the Internet and Bentrup first encountered the youth at a health club. St. Louis County police were called in to investigate after the boy admitted the alleged episodes to his parents, who had become suspicious of his behavior.

Rathmann’s attorney Brad Kessler said it will be this fall, at the earliest, before Rathmann’s trial could begin.

PREVIOUS STORY -- FROM DECEMBER 27 ISSUE

Attorney Says
Rathmann Believed Boy To Be Older
BY NANCY LARSON

The attorney for former Pride St. Louis President Rolf Rathmann said Rathmann was misled by a fourteen-year-old boy who claims that he had sex with four different men. Attorney Brad Kessler said the youth told 37-year-old Rathmann on different occasions that he was eighteen, nineteen and twenty years old when they met through the Internet, and later in a West County park.

Rathmann is the only one of the four men charged in the investigation who can legally use that argument, because the boy was a year younger when he allegedly encountered the others. That defense is only valid when a victim is over thirteen, and applies when'the defendant reasonably believed that the child was seventeen years of age or older,” according to Kessler.

Kessler said Rathmann did meet the boy at Bluebird Park, but fewer than the eight times alleged by the teenager. There was some sort of contact, but the boy exaggerated many of the details, Kessler said. "We are denying anything happened that would be illegal,” he said.

Rathmann is charged with eight counts of statutory sodomy in the second degree. He was freed on bail on December 11th. 30-year old Andrew Buhr, charged with two counts of first-degree sodomy, was released on bail December 13th. 55-year-old Richard Bentrup, charged with five counts of first-degree statutory sodomy was also released after his $200 thousand dollar bail was cut in half.

As the Vital VOICE went to press, 50-year-old William Sandefur remained behind bars. Sandefur is charged with three counts of first-degree statutory sodomy. On December 23rd, a judge refused to reduce Sandefur"s $200 thousand dollar bail, but agreed to accept a ten percent cash payment for his release. Earlier, Sandefur had asked for a public defender, but the judge found that he was not indigent, and ordered him to provide his own attorney.

The cases of all four men could go before the Grand Jury before the end of December, according to the St. Louis County Prosecutor"s office.

The fourteen-year-old boy is getting professional help from the Victims' Service Unit, according to Don Schneider of the prosecutor's office. Both he and his family have been receiving counseling for "some time” Schneider said.

Nancy Larson can be reached at nlarson@thevitalvoice.com.


** (THE FOLLOWING IS AN ARCHIVED STORY --PUBLISHED IN DECEMBER 13 ISSUE)**

While shock, speculation, and blame engulfed the area"s GLBT community, former Pride St. Louis President Rolf Rathmann was freed from the St. Louis County Jail on bail, and former GOP Committeeman Andrew Buhr was preparing for release, as the Vital VOICE went to press.

Rathmann was charged on December 6th with eight counts of statutory sodomy in the second degree. The charges stem from an investigation into a fourteen-year-old boy's claims that he had sexual encounters with four men, including 37-year-old Rathmann of St. Louis. Bail was set at $200,000, and on December 11th, Rathmann's attorney Brad Kessler asked the court to reduce that amount. Circuit Court Judge Michael Jamison reduced bail to $100,000 and authorized a 10% cash payment, or $10,000.

Asked what Rathmann will do now that he is free, Kessler said, "I imagine he will try to get on with his life.”

Thirty-year-old-Andrew Buhr, a Republican party nominee for the Missouri House in 2000 and the former Republican committeeman for Hadley Township, has also been charged with two counts of first degree sodomy in the case. The charges differ from those against Rathmann because the boy was thirteen when the alleged incidents took place with Buhr. Investigators said Buhr, of Richmond Heights, admitted to having sex with the boy.

Buhr"s bail had been set at $150,000 but was reduced on December 11th to $75,000, with Buhr authorized to put up $7,500 for his release. His release was expected to occur on December 12th.

During his arrest on December 6th, Buhr called to resign from the Republican party, according to GOP Central Committee Chairman John Winston. Winston called Buhr "a nice guy, and a smart person who was very active in the party.”

KSDK Executive News Producer, 50-year-old William Sandefur of St. Louis, is charged with three counts of first-degree sodomy reportedly involving the same boy. 55-year-old St. Charles businessman Richard Bentrup is charged with five counts of first-degree sodomy in the case. Bentrup has admitted to having sex with the boy, according to investigators. Bail hearings have not yet been set for Sandefur and Bentrup, and they remain in jail.

Prosecutors said three of the men met the youth through the Internet and that Bentrup encountered the boy at a health club.

St. Louis County police were called in to investigate after the youth admitted the alleged episodes to his parents, who had become suspicious of his behavior. The boy said his encounters with Rathmann took place at Bluebird Park in Ellisville between June and October of this year.

A Grand Jury will soon begin hearing evidence in the cases of all four men, and decide whether to issue indictments. If the Grand Jury decides not to indict Rathmann or any of the others, the charges will be dropped. The cases could go before the Grand Jury, a private panel of twelve citizens, before the end of this month, according to Don Schneider of the St. Louis County Prosecutor"s office.

Rathmann"s former attorney Bruce Hopson, who still represents Buhr, said statutory sodomy in the first degree stems from deviate sexual intercourse with another person who is less than fourteen years old. Second-degree statutory sodomy applies when one participant is 21 or over, and the other person is less than seventeen years old. Deviate sexual intercourse is "any act involving the genitals of one person and the hand, mouth, tongue, or anus of another person or a sexual act involving the penetration, however slight, of the male or female sex organ or the anus by a finger, instrument or object done for the purpose of arousing or gratifying the sexual desire of any person.”

Judges have a wide range of sentencing options in statutory sodomy convictions, according to the Prosecutor's office. The maximum sentence for each count of second degree statutory sodomy is one to seven years incarceration, and a fine of up to $5,000 per count.

Impact On The GLBT Community

"I feel horrible for Rolf, I feel horrible for this child, and I feel horrible for our community,” said Diane Elze, an advisor for Growing American Youth, an organization for GLBT young teenagers and young adults.

As the community tried to sort through its feelings and make sense of the rapidly unfolding events, the board of Pride St. Louis called a meeting immediately after Rathmann"s arrest to discuss its future leadership and direction. The board accepted Rathmann"s resignation and appointed Vice-President Jeannie Artimisi as Acting President.

"Pride will keep going,” said Artimisi. She said the community"s support has been overwhelming, and stressed that all scheduled events will occur as planned, including an open house set for January 18th. Asked if the charges against Rathmann will taint the image of  the organization, Artimisi said, "This was not anything that should reflect on Pride St. Louis.”

But former Pride St. Louis President Debbie Miller is concerned about the reputation of the GLBT community as a whole. Miller pointed to the recent ouster of Erise Williams, the former Executive Director of Blacks Assisting Blacks Against AIDS (BABAA) following the towel-clad appearance of a former porn star at an educational event. "it's a double-barrel shot after what happened with BABAA,” Miller said. "If I were someone who wasn't in the community, my opinion would be one of non-support right now.”

Miller went on to defend Rathmann, saying, "Rolf is one of the greatest people I've ever met,” and added that if Rathmann did indeed have contact with the boy, "he had no idea” of his young age.

Gay Youth At Risk

At the heart of this controversy is a fourteen-year-old boy a situation of grave concern to Diane Elze. "If the facts are correct, and it looks pretty damning, I am incredibly angry about this,” Elze said.

Elze emphasized the need for support for GLBT youth including more Gay-Straight Alliances in schools and opportunities to meet other gay youth. She said that searching for partners through the Internet and meeting people in parks are unsafe activities that are especially tragic when adults participate. "The reinforcement of that behavior by adults puts young people at incredible risk next week somebody like Jeffrey Dahmer could be meeting them. I want to say to my beloved brothers, "what are you doing and where is your head?"”

Even when a child initiates sexual encounters, the adult is still responsible, said Hopson.  "When children have matured to the point when they are shaving in junior high school, it doesn't mean sexual activity with them should be condoned, but its easy to see how they could mislead and deceive someone. An adult has to realize the person is a child and is not capable of making the consent.”

Growing American Youth welcomes all GLBT and questioning teenagers and young adults up to the age of 21. The group meets every Thursday night at 8PM at Trinity Episcopal Church in the Central West End.

Internet Safety

Internet chat rooms are "actually starting to replace bars,” noted Tony Bossaller, who operates the Website gaystlouis.com. "It used to be you"d go to a bar to meet someone, now you can do that without ever leaving your home you don't even have to get dressed.” Bossaller has seen a huge increase in chat room activity in recent years.

Bryce Eberhart, Director of Corporate Communications for PlanetOut and Gay.com agreed that chat room participation has exploded in the past five years. At any given time, according to Eberhart, as many as 25,000 people are logged onto to those two Websites. Five years ago, the sites measured their numbers of monthly visitors in the tens of thousands; today as many as six million visitors come to the sites each month.

Eberhart said the Websites try to separate youth chat rooms from those of adults, but cautioned that parents still need to monitor their children"s Internet activity.

The Internet is a "wonderful support system” for gays and lesbians, Eberhart said, but people need to think about safety. "Don't throw away your common sense when you turn on your computer. If you"re going to meet someone, meet them in a public place first.” He added that if you"re meeting someone for the first time and you don't know if they"re over eighteen, you should ask to see their driver"s license. "We can't protect people from other people lying; no one can.”

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