December 4, 2019
Sexual Assault Kit Backlog Elimination Project results in 12th Multnomah County indictment
Today, Multnomah County District Attorney Rod Underhill announced that as part of the ongoing Sexual Assault Kit Backlog Elimination Project, a grand jury has indicted Frank Domont Hall Jr., 40, for allegedly raping a 30 year old female in 2013.
This is the 12th case to be indicted under the Multnomah County District Attorney’s Sexual Assault Kit Backlog Elimination Project.
The victim in this case does not want media contact. The Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office is requesting media respect her privacy.
On December 3, 2019, a Multnomah County grand jury returned a single count indictment against Hall Jr. and charged him with one count of rape in the first degree.
It is alleged in the indictment that on or about February 24, 2013, Hall Jr. unlawfully and knowingly, by forcible compulsion, engaged in sexual intercourse with the victim.
The alleged incident occurred in a multi-unit dwelling in downtown Portland, Oregon.
On November 27, 2019, members of the Portland Police Bureau located Hall Jr. near the intersection of Northeast Clackamas Street and Northeast Grand Avenue and arrested him.
This case is being investigated by the Portland Police Bureau as part of its Sexual Assault Kit Initiative Workgroup.
Like in all criminal and civil matters, electronic copies of court documents, which are not subject to a protective order, are available to the public through the Oregon eCourt Information (OECI) system.
No additional information can be released by the Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office at this time pursuant to the Oregon Rules of Professional Conduct.
An indictment is only an accusation of a crime. Hall Jr. is innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Sexual Assault Kit Backlog Elimination Project
In 2015, Multnomah County District Attorney Rod Underhill, along with the Portland Police Bureau, Gresham Police Department, Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office and the Oregon State Police Forensic Laboratory collaboratively initiated a project to process thousands of untested Sexual Assault Forensic Evidence (SAFE) kits in Multnomah, Marion and Lane counties.
District Attorney Underhill and others quickly identified funding from the New York County District Attorney’s Office (DANY) and worked collectively with the Portland Police Bureau’s Sex Crimes Unit after the City of Portland received a grant from the U.S. Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Assistance’s (BJA) Sexual Assault Kit Initiative Grant Program.
DANY awarded the Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office a total of $1,995,453 in September 2015. Using those funds, a coordinated effort involving local law enforcement and the Oregon State Police was launched to send SAFE kits, dated 2014 or older from Multnomah, Lane and Marion counties, to a private lab in Utah for testing.
Under the DANY grant, nearly 3,000 sexual assault kits from around the state were tested.
In 2018, Oregon became one of the first five states in the country to clear its backlog of Sexual Assault Forensic Examination (SAFE) kits.
In Oregon, Senate Bill 1571, known as "Melissa's Law," was the Oregon Legislature's response to ensuring all sexual assault kits, except for anonymous kits, are sent to the Oregon State Crime Laboratory for timely testing.
The Portland Police Bureau’s Sexual Assault Kit Initiative Workgroup, which was created in 2015, is comprised of victim-centered and trauma-informed members of the Portland Police Bureau and the Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office.
Results from the kits continue to be investigated and survivors of sexual assaults are being notified. The Portland Police Bureau’s Sex Crimes Unit encourages those who have had a SAFE kit collected prior to 2015 to contact the roseproject@portlandoregon.gov or 503-823-0125.
Current Multnomah County SAFE kit criminal cases (as of October 10, 2019)
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Contact: Brent Weisberg, Communications Director
Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office
Phone: 503.988.6567 | Email: Brent.Weisberg@mcda.us