Minister in Plot to Bomb Abortion Clinic Will Get Out of Prison Early

The Rev. Dorman Owens, who was convicted in the attempted bombing of a San Diego abortion clinic, will be released from prison in the next few days after serving 16 months of a 21-month sentence, authorities said Friday.

Owens, 55, is the former pastor of the fundamentalist Bible Missionary Fellowship in Santee. He and several of his followers were implicated in an unsuccessful attempt to bomb the Family Planning Associates Medical Group on Alvarado Road in July, 1987. A church member placed an explosive charge in the building, but it failed to detonate.

Owens was sentenced last July to 21 months in prison after pleading guilty to lying about the bomb plot and tampering with a federal witness. He received credit for four months he served in prison before his sentencing and for good behavior, officials said.

‘Learned His Lesson’

A federal prosecutor in the case said Friday that he believed Owens has “learned his lesson.” Owens will begin serving five years’ probation upon his release from the federal prison at Terminal Island near San Pedro.

“I’m hoping for the best,” said Larry Burns, an assistant U. S. attorney. “He kept a low profile while he was in prison. I don’t think he’ll violate the terms of his probation.”

Under those terms, Owens is prohibited from participating in anti-abortion or anti-homosexual demonstrations, Burns said. He is also barred from encouraging others to picket clinics that provide abortions.

Ruth Rominger, acting executive director of Womancare, a San Diego clinic that was routinely picketed by Owens and his group, said she was “sorry to see he’s getting out.” She said she believes Owens will continue to encourage others to shut down clinics that provide abortions.

“We have no reason to believe he has been rehabilitated,” Rominger said. “The most frightening thing is that he still has friends and acquaintances that are active in Operation Rescue. He has connections involved with the present harassment and blockades.”

Operation Rescue, a national anti-abortion campaign, has gained widespread attention for its practice of forming human blockades to prevent women from entering clinics that provide abortions and for its participants’ willingness to go to jail for their cause.

Owens’ release during a time of heightened anti-abortion activity following the recent Supreme Court decision on the issue was “very bad timing,” Rominger said. “We hope San Diego police are going to do their duties and make sure these kinds of things don’t happen again.”

Thomas Warwick, Owens’ attorney, declined to give the pastor’s release date.

“My client has instructed me not to discuss his case,” Warwick said. “He just wants to stay out of the public eye. He doesn’t want any more publicity.”

Of five others convicted in connection with the attempted bombing, two are still in custody and another is about to begin serving his sentence, Burns said. Eric Svelmoe, who planted the bomb, and Jo Anne Kreipal, a mother of two, have completed their terms, Burns said.