In a grueling, four-hour cross examination

In a grueling, four-hour cross examination on Friday, Kalispell attorney George Best strongly challenged the credibility of a prosecution witness in the money-for-sex trial of a Kalispell businessman.

Best, representing Dick Dasen Sr., elicited key admissions from former prostitute Leah Marshall throughout the day, including statements that she lied to police about this case, even though she told the jury she'd decided to be honest and take responsibility for her actions.

During her initial testimony on Friday, Marshall, 23, said when Kalispell Police detectives first questioned her about her involvement with Dasen, she was afraid she might be charged with new crimes.

However, she decided the only way to "overcome the wreckage of my past" was to be honest and tell them what she knew.

Marshall eventually told police she'd had a year-long

sexual relationship with Dasen in which he gave her thousands of dollars in return for sexual favors and for her help procuring other women.

Dasen, a longtime Kalispell businessman, is now on trial for 14 counts of soliciting prostitution and related crimes.

In his cross examination, Best repeatedly noted discrepancies between Marshall's testimony at this trial and the answers she gave during interviews with the police last June.

For example, when Best asked Marshall if she was afraid of Dasen or ever felt threatened by him, it prompted one of the day's sharper exchanges.

"I think there was always a little fear of him," Marshall said. "When someone has a lot of money, you don't know what they're capable of. Who's going to believe some junkie prostitute?"

"Did he [Dasen] ever touch you in an aggressive way?" Best asked.

"Absolutely," Marshall said. "All the time."

"All the time?" Best asked incredulously. "How?"

"During sex," Marshall snapped. "He was always rough. It hurt. I did feel physically uncomfortable."

Best then noted that the police had asked her almost identical questions, and she'd never said anything to them about Dasen being rough.

"That was a time when I was minimizing my answers because I was afraid of new charges," Marshall said.

"But this was the third interview," Best said. "This was the time when you'd decided to 'come clean.' Are you telling us today that you weren't telling the truth at that time?"

"I'm telling you today that I didn't tell the truth at that time," Marshall replied.

"When can we know you've finally decided to tell the truth?" Best asked.

"If you want to use these statements to break me down or slap me around, go for it," Marshall said.

"I don't want to break you down, ma'am. I want you to tell the truth," Best said.

Best also cast doubt on Marshall's earlier claims that she'd been drug-free for a period of several months after first coming to Montana, until she met Dasen.

During her testimony on Thursday, Marshall said she'd come to Montana in part to escape the unstable life she'd been living in Oregon, where her mother was a drug addict and where she herself had been using drugs since she was 10.

She also said she didn't even know where to buy drugs here, and that she'd remained drug-free until her first encounter with Dasen in December 2002, when he wrote her a check for $2,650 to pay off some of her bills - but which she'd actually used in part to buy drugs.

Best methodically chipped away at her testimony, getting Marshall to admit that she had used drugs during a brief visit to Oregon, several months before meeting Dasen; that she knew from friends that Dasen was a potentially source of money; and that many of her friends here were drug users.

If Marshall didn't have any drug connections in the Flathead, Best asked, then "how did you go from being drug-free up until that [December] meeting with Dasen, to walking out of his office with a check for $2,650 and buying drugs?"

Marshall repeated that she didn't have any drug connections here.

"Then how did you buy drugs?" Best asked.

Marshall replied that her roommate asked if she wanted to get high.

Several jury members took notes during Friday's often-testy exchanges. However, while Best succeeded in painting Marshall as a flawed human being, he asked almost no questions related to her key testimony: That Dasen, on multiple occasions, paid her for sex.

The trial will continue on Monday.

Reporter Bill Spence may be reached at 758-4459 or by e-mail at bspence@dailyinterlake.com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bylineA100CAAA30ACC900000CA00000CCCCCCCCAC10CCCCCC1AC90000200C40, body copyA100CAAAAAACC900000CA00000CCCCCCCCAC220CCCCCC1AC90000200C40, body copyA100CAAA0008000001460000000240,2Stone Sans40,0AAACCCCCCCCCCC10000001040,MNimrod40,AAAACCCCCCCCCCC10000001046700000002900000000!uAAe 46710000015100000000:8vv4675000000B100000000u!;!;Ciae;i;oiueiCuaeiuiou!uCuaeuuuouueFFFF000000060001001277AA00000000006A00000001100121000000120011000CCC4800480CCAAAA-1C0CCCCCCC100010CCCFFFFAA0CCC42564E340CCC10001300000001000000200000000101D8001010CCCCAAAAACCCC000200000022000000001D,Dasen attorney grills witness000400000009000000020A1D000060000006D000000010AA10AAACCAAAAFFFFAA0C3000000CCC-13380C0CCCC10CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCAAA10000C000500000009000000020A1D0000700000073000000010AACCCCCCCCCCCCCCCAC10CCCCCC10C40,news 42A100CAAA0008000000A40000000140,ACaslon Bold40,0AAACCCCCCCCCCC100000010