Thread: MAX - A woman allegedly attacked at a stop

MAX - A woman allegedly attacked at a stop says a warning needed to go out
Wednesday, January 09, 2008
BRAD SCHMIDT
The Oregonian

A 41-year-old woman, allegedly sexually assaulted at a Gresham MAX platform on Christmas Eve, is criticizing TriMet for failing to notify the public about a third high-profile transit attack in the city since November.

The Portland woman contacted news media -- two weeks after the unpublicized incident -- to raise awareness among women about self-defense while riding the eastside MAX line. TriMet and law enforcement officials from Portland and Gresham have been debating which jurisdiction is responsible for the case.

"That really did anger me. I wanted awareness," the woman told The Oregonian in an interview Tuesday. "I want women to be more aware that they need to be careful."

The alleged assault occurred about 8:30 p.m. Dec. 24, on the westbound MAX platform at 181st Avenue and East Burnside Street. According to Multnomah County court documents, a man approached the woman on the platform, asked for a cigarette, then grabbed and restrained her while reaching under her clothing and groping her chest.

The woman said she screamed, "No!" at her attacker and repeatedly kicked him in the shin until he let go. She called 9-1-1 from her cell phone, and police responded.

They arrested Mario Santiago-Montelongo, 28, who is charged with first-degree sexual abuse, a Measure 11 crime carrying a mandatory prison term. He is being held at the county's Inverness Jail on $250,000 bail. Deputy District Attorney John Copic said federal authorities are reviewing Santiago-Montelongo's immigration status.

The Oregonian does not identify victims of alleged sexual abuse. But the woman, an unemployed single mother who relies exclusively on mass transit, said the public deserves to know of another high-profile attack on the Gresham MAX line.

Her message to TriMet and local politicians: "You get these citizens protected."

It remained unclear Tuesday why no government agency notified the public of the incident.

The investigation involved members of the Gresham Police Department, the Portland Police Bureau, which conducted a follow-up interview with the woman, and TriMet's Transit Police Division, which made the arrest.

A Gresham police spokesman redirected questions to TriMet, which referred questions to Portland. Sgt. Brian Schmautz, the Portland police spokesman, provided details of the incident but said it was a TriMet case.

"It is kind of a messy deal," Schmautz said.

Until recently, TriMet had denied crime problems along its MAX line, saying any troubles reflected the community it traveled through and not the system.

On Nov. 2, Gresham Mayor Shane Bemis announced his city's police would eventually patrol MAX trains passing through Gresham to supplement a lack of coverage by TriMet's transit division officers. The next day, a 71-year-old Sandy man was beaten with a baseball bat after he got off a train near downtown Gresham.

Then, on Nov. 29, a 19-year-old man was stabbed in the chest after getting off a train at the Rockwood/East 188th Avenue station. And on Dec. 3, Thaymon Earl Watson, 19, was sentenced to 14 years in prison for stabbing to death a 19-year-old in December 2006 at a Gresham transit station.

TriMet has now made safety its top priority, committing to increase uniformed transit police and private security officers. The agency is also making changes at some platforms, improving lighting and adding security cameras. Cameras are scheduled for installation at the 181st Avenue platform this year.

TriMet spokeswoman Mary Fetsch said the latest incident has prompted the agency to review whether it should immediately release information on serious assaults. "We already know there are safety issues, and we're addressing them," she said. "Unfortunately those steps didn't prevent this assault."

Gresham's mayor said he will continue to push for speedy changes to improve safety.

"I'm absolutely disgusted that here's a third heinous crime that's happened on the MAX line in our city in the past couple of months," Bemis said.

"It continually reiterates that there is a problem on that line. We cannot move quick enough . . . all working together to make this happen, to get this safe."

Brad Schmidt, 503-294-5940; bradschmidt@news.oregonian.com


http://www.oregonlive.com/oregonian/sto ... xml&coll=7

FYI: This is one of Gresham's and Portland's worst areas for crime, as well as an illegal alien enclave, which with that includes heavy gang presence. We lived there years ago, and it was getting pretty bad then. It had become so bad that the long present grocery store, Fred Meyers, had to close it's doors as they were not at all making $$$, but simply losing it due to the high theft there, they recently razed that building.

AE: Hey thanks for posting this one. I noticed it a few days ago, but at that time, there was no mention of the perp's status. At least this article says they are looking into that. About that area - yes, very true. It's quickly becoming one of the rougher -if not roughest - parts of the Portland metro area.

PhredE, it has gotten SO bad down there, I won't even consider riding MAX through it now. The last time we did, we witnessed some gang guys having a showdown on MAX and that was the LAST time we rode MAX.

Now I will say this, my husband taks MAX to and from work, but that is during the peak hours and since it is crowded, he is safe from problems and I pick him up at the end of the line.

The Rockwood neighborhood (which is where 181st and 188th stops are) has gotten so nasty that the mayor has stopped leasing out city owned buildings to the self-owned grocery stores, as their presence appeared to have been doing no good for the community and was a gathering place for trouble (all were owned by who many believed to be illegal aliens).

as the economy gets worse more desperate IAs will resort to crime

Although it's a generally high crime area, the last thing the residents there need is to be victimized by illegal aliens who have no business being in this country at all. Every crime committed by an IA is 100% preventable if our borders were secured, our laws enforced and sanctuary cities/states stopped harboring these criminals. Every city official in a sanctuary city is directly and indirectly responsible for every crime committed by an IA and should be answering to the victims.

legalatina, the mayor of our town has been working towards making that area better. What I understand he is trying to do (although it is not said directly by him, but this info came from a woman who is a neighborhood association president) is to basically break up the balkanization that has happened in that area, by the illegal aliens there.

Another note; About two/three years ago I read an article about a man who was caught selling drugs off of the MAX line in another neighborhood. This man was an illegal alien from Guatemala, and he had been selling the drugs for a group who brought him here, and a tiny portion of his drug sales went towards his debt to that gang (likely thats who it was) for bringing him here.

Once caught this man was too fearful to say anything to the police, even when they stated he could get immunity and also ask for sanctuary for his testimony. This man also was living in the thick of this neighborhood where this attack happened. They found that there was approximately 20 people living in this two bedroom apartment, all were essentially slaves to this gang for drug sales.

This life of criminality is so ubelievable, and it is so easy for true criminals, like the gangs and cartels, to perpetuate it as the people they bring here are so afraid (due to their illegal status) and also out of habit, fearful of law enforcement (how many of those countries in Mexico and Central America have trustworthy police?...), so they will not speak up and rat out the cartels and gangs. The criminals know this and in the long run the crime grows as they draw in the illegals who did desire to come here for a "better life" (although nothing can justify breaking U.S. laws).