Santa Barbara Men Accused of Sex Crimes with Teen Girl

Dr. Andrew C. Bourne and Joseph T. Walker, who live part time in Mammoth Lakes, allegedly exchanged at least 1,000 emails with the victim

By Daniel Langhorne, Noozhawk Intern | @NoozhawkNews | updated logo | Published on 01.04.2012

Andrew C. Bourne

[Noozhawk’s note: The initial report of rape allegations was later updated with the actual charges, which do not include a rape charge. The Noozhawk article below has been updated as well.]

Two men with residences in Santa Barbara and Mammoth Lakes have been arrested on charges of sexual contact with a then-14-year-old girl from the Santa Barbara area, KEYT reported Wednesday.

Santa Barbara police investigators arrested Dr. Andrew C. Bourne, 46, a Mammoth Lakes Unified School District trustee, surgeon and former chief of staff at Mammoth Hospital, and Joseph T. Walker, 48, described as an international businessman. The two men were taken into custody in Mammoth Lakes without incident.

Walker was arrested on six counts of illegal communication with a minor to facilitate sexual activity and one count of unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor. Bourne was arrested on eight counts of illegal communication with a minor to facilitate sexual activity.

KEYT initially reported that the men were arrested for raping the girl but later updated its story with a source close to the investigation saying the men “have not been arrested for rape, but they have been arrested and face multiple criminal charges.”

Both Bourne and Walker were booked at the Mono County Jail with bail set at $1 million each. Bourne and Walker waived extradition and were to be transported to Santa Barbara for booking into the Santa Barbara County Jail.

“It’s too new for me to say anything,” said Greg Newbry, a clerk for the Mammoth Unified School District Board of Education, on which Bourne serves as a member.

Newbry declined to further comment on Bourne’s arrest, and board member Jack Farrell said the board agreed to direct all questions about the matter to the district’s superintendent.

Joseph T. Walker

Santa Barbara police issued a news release Thursday and said the investigation began in September 2011, when suspicious emails sent to a teenage female were discovered and reported to the police.

Detectives discovered about 1,000 emails between the men and the girl, now 15, which were used to obtain the arrest and search warrants in this case.

Bourne and Walker are both reported to be married, have children, are good friends and knew the girl’s family.

— Noozhawk intern Daniel Langhorne can be reached at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address). Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.

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» sensationalreporting? on 01.07.12 @ 04:59 AM

While there is no question as to the need for extreme sensitivity of this subject matter - not one piece of journalism in this story relates nor refers to any counts of rape having been committed. This goes for the three other stories I have just read about the same case, one other being from your paper! I in no way condone any illicit action toward children and without question both men involved here certainly knew better than to engage in any suggestive emails with a teenager - and their actions will be, at best, difficult to forgive, particularly from the girl’s family they apparently knew - really it’s unforgiveable on that count. But to headline there was “Repeated Rape” is almost worst than the offense itself. Journalism any more is constantly questioned and to blatantly sensationalize something as horrific as this is absolutely WRONG! It should have been caught by the editor and cleaned up before it was published. This blatant error in relating news is outrageous! You should be ashamed as a reporter to have headlined this story as inappropiately as you did! This is a huge discredit to your paper and particularly to your reporting skills!

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» Rambler on 01.29.12 @ 07:28 PM

Statutory rape is rape, my friend. A child may do something of their free will, but is not considered a “consenting adult.”

This is a case of two grown men taking advantage of a very young girl, probably causing her tremendous mental anguish. How the parents let this happen is a mystery.

This guy had children, perhaps not much younger than the girl. He was apparently a talented surgeon, too. This is the kind of tragedy that follows people who can’t or won’t control their urges.

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