Jury Finds Leland Harper Guilty Of Sexual Abuse Of A Minor -11/07/23

Multnomah County District Attorney Mike Schmidt today announced that a Multnomah County jury delivered verdicts finding Leland Patrick Harper, 62, guilty of sexually abusing a child over the span of several years. The same jury found Harper guilty of 14 additional charges related to his efforts to bribe and tamper with witnesses in the child sex abuse case. 

The trial took place in front of Judge Celia Howes from October 23 to November 6, 2023, with Senior Deputy District Attorney Chuck Mickley as prosecutor. The 12-person jury delivered their verdicts on November 6, finding Harper guilty of:

• 23 counts of Sexual Abuse in the First Degree
• 16 counts of Using a Child in a Display of Sexually Explicit Conduct
• 14 counts of Luring a Minor
• 3 counts of Unlawful Sexual Penetration
• 2 counts of Sodomy in the First Degree
• 1 count of Encouraging Child Sexual Abuse in the First Degree
• 6 counts of Witness Tampering
• 4 counts of Bribing a Witness
• 2 counts of Conspiracy to Bribe a Witness
• 2 counts of Conspiracy to Commit Witness Tampering

Harper is currently in custody and is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Howes on January 8, 2024.

The Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office thanks the many people who played critical roles in bringing Mr. Harper to justice. The list includes:

• PPB Lead Detective Nathan Tobey
• Members of Portland Police Bureau’s Child Abuse Team
• The Portland Police Bureau’s Digital Forensics Unit
• The U.S. Federal and Portuguese authorities who accomplished the arrest and extradition of Mr. Harper from Portugal back to Oregon

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