February 20, 2020
Untested Sexual Assault Kit Project results in 6th conviction
Today, Multnomah County District Attorney Rod Underhill announced that 37-year-old Jesse Moser pleaded guilty to one count of sexual abuse in the second degree and was put on 36 months of formal probation following an investigation conducted by the Portland Police Bureau’s Sex Crimes Unit and the District Attorney’s Untested Sexual Assault Kit Project.
“We are proud the victim in this case came forward to share her story. Mr. Moser’s actions had a significant impact on her and she showed tremendous courage throughout this process,” said Multnomah County Deputy District Attorney Tara Gardner, who prosecuted this case. “This is a presumptive sentence under Oregon law. This case was heavily negotiated and the sentence takes into account Mr. Moser’s lack of criminal history, mitigating information provided by his defense attorney and it is consistent with similarly situated individuals.”
The Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office regularly communicated with the victim about this case and the pretrial negotiations. She is in full support of this resolution.
“You violated my trust, robbed me of the truth, and violated my body,” she said during the sentencing hearing, which took place on February 19, 2020. “I took my fire and used it to help other women get the closure I didn’t ever think I’d get.”
As part of his probation, Moser will have to obey all laws, comply with sex offender probation conditions that include having no contact with the victim, receiving treatment and registering as a sex offender. Moser must comply with any computer monitoring request and agree to GPS monitoring if either is determined to be appropriate by his probation officer.
This investigation started in December of 2013 when the Portland Police Bureau received information about a 17 year old female who may have been sexually abused. The Portland Police Bureau’s Sex Crimes Unit assigned a detective to the case and had an open investigation into the circumstances and contacted the victim who confirmed being sexually abused by Moser. At the time, Moser was 31 years old.
The PPB investigation remained open as detectives conducted investigative follow up.
In August of 2014, the victim contacted Oregon State Police in Hood River and provided additional information about her sexual abuse. She told detectives that she met Moser on a social media application. The two communicated online and then eventually met in person and had sexual intercourse multiple times.
After speaking with law enforcement for a second time about the incident, the victim told investigators she did not want any involvement in a criminal investigation.
The Sexual Assault Forensic Evidence kit in this case was tested under the District Attorney’s Untested Sexual Assault Kit Project. In March of 2019, law enforcement, using established trauma-informed protocols, contacted the victim who then indicated she wanted law enforcement to resume an investigation into her sexual assault.
Untested Sexual Assault Kit 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 February 19, 2020)
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Contact: Brent Weisberg, Communications Director
Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office
Phone: 503.988.6567 | Email: Brent.Weisberg@mcda.us