After Being Acquitted, Father Files Lawsuit
By Joseph Snook
Investigative Reporter
Albany, Oregon – Dain Sansome, a father of three young daughters, was arrested in November after a neighbor’s hearsay report led Albany Police Detective Glenn Fairall and DHS caseworker Matthew Stark into a rushed investigation. Despite no disclosure of abuse by the children, normal medical exams, a passed polygraph, and expert findings that Fairall’s child interviews were leading and biased, Sansome was indicted and held apart from his family for more than two years while facing decades in prison. He refused plea deals that would have branded him a sex offender for life.
On December 12, after an eight-day trial, a unanimous jury found him not guilty of all charges. At trial, Detective Fairall admitted under oath to material errors in the probable-cause affidavit that justified the arrest. The US~Observer documented the case and Sansome’s later civil-rights lawsuits seeking accountability from the detective, the City of Albany, DHS, and the State of Oregon. The criminal case ended in full vindication; the family’s fight for civil remedy continued.
Dain Sansome was falsely charged with sexually abusing his daughters. After more than two years apart from his family, a unanimous jury acquitted him of all charges on December 12.
