Multnomah County District Attorney Rod Underhill announced a 35 month prison sentence for 42-year-old Jason Jay Paul following an investigation into online sex crimes.
Paul pleaded guilty to one count each of online sexual corruption of a child in the first degree and online sexual corruption of a child in the second degree on June 11, 2018 before Multnomah County Circuit Court Judge Christopher J. Marshall.
This investigation began on October 31, 2017 when investigators assigned to the Portland Police Bureau’s Human Sex Trafficking Team launched an undercover mission to target individuals attempting to lure children using the internet for sexual gratification.
“In this case, there was a team of undercover law enforcement investigators behind the Facebook account Mr. Paul was communicating with and because of those law enforcement efforts, we were fortunate to prevent the defendant from actually coming into physical contact with or communicating with a minor and stopped a child from being sexually abused,” said Multnomah County Deputy District Attorney Mike Botthof, who prosecuted this case. “The harsh reality is there are people on the internet at any given moment throughout the day looking to find a vulnerable child who can be taken advantage of for sexual gratifying purposes. The work we are doing here at the Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office and with our law enforcement partners should put those people on notice.”
In this case, the PPB Human Sex Trafficking Team was able to use an undercover Facebook account. During the investigation, the defendant started to communicate with the officers. During those conversations, officers pretended to be a 15 year old female. The defendant’s conversations quickly turned sexual in nature and eventually moved from online based communications to text messages.
During the investigation, officers learned Paul was previously convicted of online sexual corruption of a child in the second degree out of Clackamas County. Additionally, the investigators learned that at the time he was communicating with the undercover officers on the Portland case, the defendant had recently completed probation for luring a minor and purchasing sex with a minor in Multnomah County.
“We believe that this sentence is appropriate and that it will hold the defendant accountable for his actions and will protect children and the community,” Botthof said.
Upon release from the Oregon Department of Corrections, the defendant will have to finish five years of probation. If Mr. Paul is found to be in violation of his probation, he could receive up to an additional 40 month prison sentence. He will also be required to undergo a sex offender evaluation and treatment. Under Oregon law, the defendant will have to register as a sex offender for life.
All other charges the defendant faced have been dismissed as part of the negotiated settlement with this office.
Source: Multnomah County District Attorney