On Thursday June 29, 2017, a Multnomah County Grand Jury indicted 63-year-old Curtis Clinton Williams on charges of Rape in the First Degree, Sodomy in the First Degree, Sexual Abuse in the First Degree, and Coercion in connection with a May 2017 investigation where he sexually assaulted a 24-year-old woman.
Williams has been in custody at the Multnomah County Jail since June 8, 2017, on other, unrelated sex crimes.
On May 18, 2017, the victim met the suspect Williams in Downtown Portland. The victim was homeless and Williams offered her a motel room for the night, which the victim accepted. They went to a Southeast Portland motel, where Williams rented a room for the night.
Soon after they entered the motel room, Williams sexually assaulted the victim. Williams kept the victim in the motel room against her will for several hours, but she was eventually able to escape. The victim ran to a nearby restaurant, where she asked an employee to call the police.
On June 8, 2017, Portland Police Bureau Sex Crimes Unit detectives arrested Williams in connection with a 2011 sexual assault investigation. Williams was booked into jail on charges of Rape in the First Degree, Sodomy in the First Degree (two counts), Unlawful Sexual Penetration in the First Degree (two counts), and Sex Abuse in the First Degree (three counts). Williams is also being held on a charge of Failure to Register as a Sex Offender.
The arrest stems from an investigation that started in September 2011. A sexual assault forensic evidence (SAFE) kit connected to the case was recently submitted for testing as part of the Police Bureau's effort to test all kits that were previously not submitted for testing. The results of the test linked Williams to the 2011 case.
As this remains an open investigation and prosecution of a sensitive nature, the Bureau cannot offer additional details regarding this case.
Williams' arrest stems from the Portland Police Bureau's Sexual Assault Kit Initiative (SAKI) work group that focuses solely on SAFE kits that were previously untested. In the course of the next few years, there will be new investigations initiated as SAFE kit DNA test results are returned. The work group in place will continue best practices of victim notification and is dedicated to vigorously investigating cases where justice has been delayed. The work group, as well as the Sex Crimes Unit, provide advocacy and a victim centered approach.
As part of the Sexual Assault Kit Initiative (SAKI) grant that the Portland Police was awarded in 2015, as well as the New York District Attorney's (DANY) grant awarded to the Multnomah County District Attorney's Office, the Portland Police Bureau has been in the process of testing, contacting survivors, and investigating cases stemming from the 1,754 untested SAFE kits in the possession of the Portland Police Bureau.
In April 2016, the first shipment of untested SAFE kits were sent to a private laboratory in Salt Lake City, Utah. All Portland Police Bureau SAFE kits have been submitted for testing and the Police Bureau now has a "full submission" policy removing any discretion on the submission of SAFE kits.
The Portland Police Bureau has additional information about its Sex Crimes Unit at https://www.portlandoregon.gov/police/69979 Click on the "The Rose Project" for more information about its untested sexual assault kit project as well as resources for survivors.
The Portland Police Bureau encourages survivors of sexual assault that had a SAFE kit performed to contact the Portland Police Bureau's Sex Crime Unit at roseproject@portlandoregon.gov or 503-823-0125. Due to the very personal and confidential nature of these crimes, information about a previously untested sexual assault kit can only be released to the survivor.