Santa Barbara Police investigated Mammoth doctor and a businessman for alleged rape.
(Updated with Santa Barbara Police press release Thursday 2pm, Updated with school district statement, Friday 10am)
Santa Barbara Police have arrested two men in Mammoth Lakes on allegations of illegal sexual activities with a 14-year-old Santa Barbara area girl. Santa Barbara Police Sergeant Lorenzo Duarte confirmed to Sierra Wave that detectives from his department were in Mammoth Lakes and had made arrests. The Sergeant issued this press release:
“On Wednesday, January 4, 2012, the Santa Barbara Police Department with the assistance of the Mammoth Lakes Police Department served arrest and search warrants in the Town of Mammoth Lakes. The Santa Barbara Police Department sought the assistance of the Mammoth Lakes Police Department following a lengthy investigation into crimes that occurred in both Santa Barbara and Mammoth Lakes.
“Two Mammoth Lakes residents, Andrew Bourne, age 46 and Joseph Walker, age 48 were arrested. Walker was arrested and booked for 6 counts
Joseph Walker, Mammoth Lakes
of 288.3 PC, illegal communication with a minor to facilitate sexual activity and 1 count of 288 (c)(1) PC, unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor. Bourne was arrested and booked for 8 counts of 288.3 PC, illegal communication with a minor to facilitate sexual activity. Both Bourne and Walker were booked at Mono County Jail and their bail was set at $1 million each. Bourne and Walker waived extradition and will be transported to Santa Barbara and booked into Santa Barbara County Jail.
“The investigation began in September of 2011 when suspicious emails sent to a teenage female were discovered and reported to the police. This lead to the recovering of over 1000 emails which were used to obtain the arrest and search warrants in this case.”
Andrew Bourne, Mammoth Lakes
Joseph Walker is a Mammoth Lakes businessman and longtime resident. Walker co-founded the Looney Bean and deals in real estate. Dr. Andrew Bourne is head of vascular surgery at Mammoth Hospital and currently the Chief of the Medical Staff. Dr. Bourne also sits on the Mammoth School Board. Santa Barbara news sources said that Bourne and Walker and the victim’s family were known to one another.
Mammoth Police Chief Dan Watson met with the Santa Barbara officers and Mono District Attorney George Booth in Booth’s Mammoth office Thursday for a briefing. Chief Watson said the Mono DA is involved because the two men arrested are residents of Mammoth Lakes.
We contacted the office of Mammoth Hospital CEO Gary Boyd for comment. Hospital Community Relations Director Lori Ciccarelli issued this statement:
“Mammoth Hospital was saddened to learn of the charges and the arrest of its contracted physician, Dr. Andrew Bourne. Our thoughts go out to the alleged victim, all families involved, and to our staff and community at large. All efforts are being made to provide on-going surgical coverage. While we cannot comment on these allegations, we will continue to provide support and medical care to our community and visitors.”
Mammoth School Superintendent Rich Boccia had emailed school staff about the arrests. In it he says that he would ask for the county crisis team to help all at the school sites deal with this issue. The school district released the following statement Thursday evening:
“We are shocked by the recent situation in our community. This news is devastating to the entire Mammoth Lakes community, and as we come to grips with these allegations, the superintendent is asking that we all focus all of our attention on the students and staff. The investigation is clearly the responsibility of law enforcement; maintaining uninterrupted service to our students is the responsibility of our District, and that is where we are trying to focus our energy. These allegations can shatter a person’s confidence in leadership, so our goal right now is to help this community continue to believe in our leadership and our commitment to the children of Mammoth Lakes.”
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First, please understand that I am NOT one to ever spread gossip or rumors. My college and high school majors and degree were in what used to be called “journalism”, so I would NEVER do any of that! As for Dr. Bourne being referred to as Chief of Staff, I had seen him called that in print ads, and on the Mammoth Hospital’s website. Maybe he was just “acting” Chief of Staff, I don’t know. But the Hospital itself has referred to him as such.
I re-read the Hospital’s initial press release about his arrest. I still find it troubling….of course we couldn’t expect any apologies to anyone before any sentencing, that’s not what I was anticipating. I just found the statements to be more along the lines of institutional outrage at the charges against their Dr. Bourne. That is just my opinion, of course.
I would not be surprised to find that bail for both accused men was lowered on Tuesday, or possibly even reduced to Own Recognizance. Although I would be disappointed if it were.
It seems in our “modern” world, there are more and more men either taking advantage of young persons, or who are out and out pedophiles. And, as someone else here at this forum pointed out, those men are often men in power positions…doctors, teachers, and coaches of kid’s athletic teams, as instances we’ve all seen.
I hope for the families’ sakes there is an innocent explanation, but barring an extremely complex conspiracy involving Santa Barbara officials, I fear that is highly unlikely.
Thanks to all those who have taken a second to send well wishes our way. This is a small community and I/we have always been able to support each other in hard times. That said, and demonstrated by the fact that there are almost 60 posts, it is a gossipy community as well. I being close to the events am sure of only two things – the charges brought against each man and the fact that no one except for the parties involved knows what has happened. I am angry, in disbelief, disappointed, confused, heartbroken, and vengeful. I am saddened and horrified for the alleged victim. But ultimately, who can say what has transpired?
Additionally, as I recall, the last time Santa Barbara Detectives were in Mammoth, they accused and allowed the Media to smear a completely innocent man of being a serial rapist, using sedatives in a syringe to bring down his prey. The man finally convicted of the crimes was Steven Neff, but this was not before they inconveniently ruined another man’s life.
Let’s all remember the power of rumors and just save the speculation for those who know the facts. The first 3 articles on this topic which appeared, which I thankfully can no longer find online not only contradict themselves, but also include many blatant lies. As far as I’m concerned, that is Libel: A published false statement that is damaging to a person’s reputation; a written defamation.
Thank you again for those who support us in these difficult times
Mr. Butcher also filed a law suit against Santa Barbara and Mammoth Lakes. Both cities settled out of court with Mr. Butcher paying him for their mistakes.
I don’t see many rumors/gossip in the comments posted here. No one is saying who did what, etc. Some things are facts though. I read people trying to come to grips about the arrests…families have been deeply touched, and too teammates, friends, etc by this situation. The media publishes the info that the police release…and sometimes they say things that ultimately aren’t true – that sadly happens. One would hope that innocent people were not arrested, but then again, all of us hope that they are innocent and that they will be found not guilty….it’s only speculation on your part too that they are wrongly accused and to bring up Mr. Butcher’s name and situation is sadly prolonging his “pain” at being wrongly accused….and I am sure he doesn’t appreciate that…it also sounds like a not so subtle threat….I understand your anger, I have my anger too for numerous reasons, but digging up the past using someone else’s name who just wants to get on with his life is not the way to heal for you or someone else. I hope you can find peace during this very difficult time.
Regarding bail…First, let me preface this by saying that the reported bail amounts could be inaccurate.
initial felony bail is set by the superior court for each county. The bail schedule for Santa Barbara County can be found here: http://www.sbcourts.org/general_info/bailschedule/FelonyBailSched.pdf. Read the explanation at the start of the document before looking up the charges. Understand that this bail schedule is for “warrantless arrestees.” However, this is a reasonable guide to how the court treats the relative severity of various crimes. If you look at the table, the maximum bail for one individual is $100,000 and the maximum for the other is $50,000 (with priors).
The arrests in this case appear to have been done under warrant. In these circumstances, bail may be pre-set by a judge based upon factors such as presumed flight risk, etc. The judge has not had a chance to determine the facts with regard to each arrestee. The suspects were likely described as well-traveled and wealthy (a surgeon and an “international businessman”). The judge heard this, considered them a presumptive flight risk, and set a high bail amount. Typically, the bail will be reviewed and will be set much lower. Here’s a nice explanation of the factors that go into the bail decision: http://defensewiki.ibj.org/index.php/Bail#Considerations_when_Making_Bail_Applications
So in the end, a high initial bail amount means very little and we should not use that to prejudge the outcome. It is likely that a bail hearing has already occurred and both have been released after posting a much lower bail.
Too bad someone’s “stature” matters. I thought it has to do with “guilt”, or at least “evidence of guilt”. Men of this stature my eye!
Benett
You claim Dr. Bourne is current Mammoth Hospital
Chief of Staff. Do you check your facts?
I can not find a different chief of staff for 2012. If you have information, please share it.
Benett Kessler
I’ve heard Dr. Bourne referred to as Head of Vascular Surgery. I’ve never heard of him being referred to as Chief of Staff.
In various articles regarding his arrest he is described as a recent or former chief of staff and head of vascular surgery.
http://mammothhospital.com/services/spc/GenSurg.php
Thanks for the link, Lynn. So it looks like he was chief of staff, but that position ended in 2011. Benett, this seems like something you could confirm with a phone call and then amend the story as necessary.
Great article but it didn’t have everthiyng-I didn’t find the kitchen sink!
Thank you! I agree. There must be a lot to this. Doesn’t anyone think a million dollar bail for each man isn’t a lot? Really, anything that wasn’t serious would not have a million dollar price tag.
I don’t see a smirk when I look at Bourne’s mug shot. All I see is tension and fear.
The investigators undoubtedly believe they have a strong case. We will only know whether there was adequate proof if there is a conviction.
I think the statement by the hospital was reasonable. Same with the school board. There’s no indication that either organization was aware of any of the alleged illegal activity. There’s no reason to apologize for something out of your control.
I agree with Ken Warner. Let’s wait and see what happens.
While it is important to wait for a final verdict before passing judgment I believe it is even more important to send love and support out to all of the families involved. There are children here that have had their fathers taken away and a slew of information being thrown at them. The best we can do as a community is communicate fairly and leave the sentencing to the authorities. The families of these men need support, love and peace. As well as the family of this young girl. I imagine this is a very trying and painful time for them as well. The best part about living in a small community is the sense of gathering together when something horrible happens. I hope we can rise above the blame and just be there for their children and partners.
I agree with innocent until proven guilty. Too bad so many get tried in the media and smeared before all the facts come out. That being said, the allegations here are quite troubling to say the least, most would like to see them be unfounded and these two men innocent. Very sad for ALL involved especially the young girl and her family.
But you bring up a very good point, will there be more come forward with other allegations? Sometimes law enforcement agencies investigating cases such as these do produce press releases or have a spokesperson ask the public to please contact them if they know of any other suspected illegal activity regarding the accused.
I’ got word that Santa Barbara Police, had records of over 1,000 email exchanges between the involved minor and the 2 adults… not sure whose computer they were found on, but pretty sure that some hard drives have been seized by police of all parties involved. Does not look good for the adults, but again, innocent until proven guilty. If it goes to trial and the emails come out in Discovery process by the DA… things will get really messy.
How many of you men out there over the age of 40 ever email a 14 year old girl, ever? Just wondering out loud here…
Holy son of a *****!
Is this the same Joe Walker that’s been coaching the middle school cross country ski team this season?
yes
It is……GREAT!!!
He also assistant coached the under 12 girls soccer for AYSO.
wow, I can only say that I hope these allegations are not true…if they are, then the men need to be dealt with appropriately. No-one expects well liked members of the community to be charged with things like this. Both men seem like very nice men, I only ‘know’ them peripherally…Of course I felt the same way about Lupe and was shocked when that turned out to be true…I still hear the teenage youth of our town bring up Lupe and talk about the time they spent there…..I think they wonder if anything could have been done to them that they don’t remember…or maybe they are just torn because they loved the man…don’t know, but I do know it’s still on their minds.
I don’t know either of these men. We need to wait until all of the evidence is made public before we make a judgement. As of now, we don’t know if the teen represented herself as a teen or if she lied about her age, as often does happen. I have known two men who have had their reputations destroyed over false allegations.
You didn’t read the article that well. The men were apparently friends of the family and new very well the age of the teen.
395Highway, this story fails to mention what other news outlets have, and that’s that these two men were friends of the victims family. I doubt her age was in question. This also brings to light another common element in these cases, and that’s that perpetrator is very often close to, or a member of, the victims family. Other characteristics of those guilty of these crimes include: they tend to be popular with both children and adults,
they often appear to be trustworthy and respectable, often have a good standing in the community, and tend to be well-educated.
The myth of pedophiles as creepy, loner, strangers and dirty old men in the park is just that: a myth. If you have children, you should be aware of this profile so that you can make informed decisions to keep your children safe.
yes Terribone
You are correct.
You need to watch your kids very close.
Can’t believe I’ve had coffee with “Smokin” Joe Walker at the Looney Bean up at Mammoth Lakes before. There is a difference, Editor, between “Mammoth”, in the central valley and “Mammoth Lakes”, in Mono County, CA
With bail set an $1 million, there is a whole lot more to this than what the police departments are sharing with us currently.
Dr. Bourne has been my Doctor for the last three months and he is a fine Doctor but, that does not mean he is a fine human being. You never know what people are capable of and for his sake, I hope this is not true.
Well Rick, the “Doc” has been charged with a felony. And the Felony charge of 288.3 carries the same penalty as whatever sexual request’s criminal violation he may have made of the victim. I also love how quick we all are to judge these men. If it was a few hundred years ago, I suppose a mob would have gathered, set fire to their homes and caught them running out the back doors. People never change!
And yes, this is horrible for this young girl and my heart goes out to her.
I have also been under the surgical care of Dr. Bourne and thought he was an amazing surgeon. One we were lucky to have. Both these men are married and have children. They had nothing but beautiful futures ahead of them. The work they did volunteering their time, money and services will affect more then we can count because now those people once helped by Dr. Bourne, may not get the treatment and necessary surgeries to save their lives.
To all who comment on the Mammoth arrests,
We will not accuse the suspects or try them by website. All are free to comment but not to make statements of guilt.
There is a long way to go in this case, and we will make every effort to update the public.
Benett Kessler
any news from the hearing ?
Not yet.
BK
Exactly so. That’s the painful part of all this. Not to mention what they may have thrown away personally. And for what?
That’s why this just doesn’t make any sense and why we should all cool our rhetoric and wait to see the details of exactly what happened.
Ken- since when does any crime “make sense”?
Not going to cut any slack to either of these men, what they may have done was horrible. But I can’t even imagine what their families are going through right now. It sucks that this had to happen.
what they might have done, and are accused of doing, is horrible. If convicted, I expect them to be sentenced appropriately. But until then, I prefer to let the judicial system work, and to consider them accused suspects and wait to condemn them until after it’s sure they did this evil stuff.
Colors-
This didn’t have to happen. Two grown adults should be aware of the consequences long before they pushed the first “send” on email.
it wasn’t an act of internet communication. They knew the girls family and all spent time together. It isn’t as if they found her online. They had contact with the family on a regular basis.
How convenient for them to know the victim’s family. Over 1000 emails?
If they’re innocent, they’ll be well represented with the best attorneys money can buy, and most likely will be vindicated.
If they’re guilty, they’ll likely get off easy, if not scot-free. Again, because they’ll have the best attorneys money can buy, Justice in America.
You’re sounding like Nancy Grace. Wait for the facts before you judge — if you can contain your enthusiasm for punishment.
Melinda, the doc isn’t charged with raping anyone. Re-read the article & then comment.
Under California law, the age of consent is 18-years-old. If a person engages in sex with a minor who is more than three years younger, sex with the minor could potentially be a felony crime. The penalties also increase if the minor is under 16 years of age and the solicitor is 21 or older. Even if you don’t engage in sex, the simple act of communicating with a person you should reasonably know to be a minor for the purpose of soliciting sex is a crime. The severity is in place to protect the vulnerable who possess limited judgment due to their developmental age from predators.
Thanks Benett, I posted after my initial reading.
I too know Dr. Bourne. He is a very talented surgeon and gives his patients the best care possible. I am sad for the victim and her family, as well as Dr. Bourne’s family.
This article lists the actual charges against the two men. Dr. Bourne is not being charged with having unlawful sex with a minor, only Joe Walker is.
http://www.edhat.com/site/tidbit.cfm?nid=78209
There is no mention of force by rape in any of the charges.
Both men are charged with several counts of unlawful communication with a minor to facilitate sex.
Not trying to make excuses for anyone, just trying to get the facts straight.
Snowman,
We did update our story to include the facts released by the Santa Barbara Police just after 2pm Thursday (today).
Benett Kessler
Then why did you put the word rape? Does it have better headlines?
Colawyer,
Early reports indicated that was the charge. Santa Barbara Police
only later clarified the actual charges.
Benett Kessler
I wonder why Bourne was not charged with having sex, I wonder if someone else was using his computer ?
Ya know there are these virus/trojan things that you could get on your PC that in effect take control of the users PC. The net effect is any emails or chats would appear like they came directly.
He was not charged with having sex because he didn’t physically have sex with the victim. What are the odds that he just happened to have a virus on his computer and live in the same small town as Joe Walker? AND! Do you have to look so smug for your mugshot? Time and the truth will tell – either way, a lot of innocent people are hurting.
Doctors don’t get viruses, they treat them. They are supposed to be so much smarter than us that they buy malware prevention software to monitor and protect their PC files and email from such evil things.
I’m saddened. I know Dr. Bourne. He saved my life. He’s a brilliant man. Why he would do something like this is way beyond my capability to understand. I hope there is more to this story that will change what is printed here today.
Ken glad to hear Dr. Bourne saved your life, we’re happy to have you here.
Unfortunately we never really know anybody.
An expensive and academically challenging education in the field of medicine does not make you a more moral person, Often, it just means you came from a privileged background. Just sayin’.
Terribone- dr bourne worked his way through medical school protecting his country….can you say the same for yourself or are you “privileged”?
too bad the majority of police that are extremely unqualified in the small town of Mammoth Lakes couldn’t figure this out…maybe they knew something or were busy giving out skateboard helmet tickets or better yet aresting someone for walking home drunk instead of driving…sincere sorrow for the victims and family of this tragedy/atrocity
Did you even read the article. The kid is from Santa Barbara and the incident was reported to Santa Barbara PD they headed the investigation. MLPD was probably not aware of the incident until the warrant was issued and Santa Barbara PD asked for assistance in the execution of the warrant. So don’t be ignorant and layoff MLPD.
To be clear, this is Joseph “Joe” Walker, original owner of the Loony Bean Coffee shop and son of Whiskey Creek owner and long-time Mammoth fixture, Sam Walker? Local media should really clarify the identity of this 2nd individual who happens to have a rather common name.
Thanks.
Oops, the article was updated with photos, and it is clearly “the” Joe Walker, of the Walker family Eastside empire. And people shouldn’t be shocked that a doctor would be accused of this type of crime — it fits a profile of men in positions of power and influence taking advantage of that position. Still, these are alleged crimes and should be treated as such.
The Walker family has not owned Whiskey Creek for 13 years!
My heart goes out to the families of the alleged. Seems the media (including Sierra Wave) is focusing on Dr. Bourne with little attention to Joe Walker, “the other man”.
Thank you for clarifying “the other guy” Benett. How sad for his family.
What is going on in todays world?
Sicko’s