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Investigator's Summary
Criminal complaint against Lister

FALLON, NV - It's a story that begins last January 18th in a small tract home on the outskirts of Fallon. That night what at least 2 mothers had been told would be a girls only, pizza and movies slumber party turned into a wild drinking bash and worse.

Among the 20 to 30 in attendance one was a 15 year old girl, a transfer from a Christian Academy, naive, vulnerable, perhaps too eager to fit in. She would later vaguely remember having sex with at least two boys while extremely intoxicated. Others put the number at four or five.

From the beginning, the town's legal community faced a dilemma. It came at a time when Fallon had lost its police chief and was in the middle of a search for his successor. Peer pressure often blocked investigation.

Worst of all, long standing personal relationships created a web of conflicts of interest. Most important among them, one of the suspects, the only one at 18 legally an adult, was Jeffrey Lister, son of Fallon Municipal Court Judge Mike Lister.

Eventually, the case was turned over to the attorney general's office and Monday they brought charges of statuatory rape against the younger Lister.

According to the investigator's affadavit, the assaults on the victim began with Lister inviting the girl, by now very drunk, to see his pickup parked outside. Immediately after climbing into the cab, she said Lister was on her.

Some time later, leaving her vomiting on the lawn outside, witnesses say Lister returned to the party bragging he had had sex with her.

In the next few days word of the party and the alleged rapes were all over Churchill County High School. When others jokingly called Lister a "rapist" one witness told investigators Lister replied "at least I got her first." To another he said "I'm the judge's son. I can never get in trouble."

In fact, another witness, described as a longtime acquaintance and sometime girlfriend, says she warned Lister about his habit of picking up underaged girls especially now that he was 18. "you're going to get busted one of these days," she says she told him.

Until Lister was charged the focus for what could be reported about this story fell on former High school softball coach Tami Peel.

The party was held at Peel's house and she purchased the alcohol for the minors who attended. An investigation determined her own young children aged 11 and 8 were in the home during the party and witnessed the drinking and some of the sex.

At her arraignment before District Judge David Huff, she pleaded guilty to one count of child endangerment, a gross misdemeanor.
Sentencing, which could include a year in jail, is set for January 27.

It's still undetermined if four other boys, under 18 at the time, but suspected of taking part in the assault will face charges.

This case will leave a mark on a number of lives and perhaps the community itself.

The 15 year old girl's mother tells KOLO8 News Now, the family is moving to the east coast in search of a healthy environment and a new start for her daughter. But she had some parting thoughts about the community she's called home and advice for other parents. We'll share some of them on Tuesdays newscasts.