Multnomah County District Attorney Rod Underhill announced 31-year-old Tyler Wilkerson received an 18 year prison sentence following a sex crimes investigation conducted by the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office.
Wilkerson pleaded no contest and was found guilty on July 23, 2018 of all 16 counts listed in the indictment. The charges include nine counts of sexual abuse in the first degree, six counts of sexual abuse in the second degree and one count of attempted rape in the second degree.
"This isn't something that he has to live with,” said one of Wilkerson’s victims upon hearing his allocution. “This is something we have to live with. This didn’t happen to him. It happened because of him."
"I think about how many nights I cried myself to sleep because of this, how many nights I sat in my room scared that he was going to come into it, how many nights that me and my sister cried to each other about what happened and how it happened and how much it has affected us. What he did defines him. It’s not some mistake that he made. It didn’t happen just one time. It happened several times to both of us."
She told the Court she does not forgive Wilkerson for his actions.
At the time of these offenses, Wilkerson was a friend of the victims’ mother and was allowed to stay with the family at their Troutdale residence.
“This was an egregious case,” said Multnomah County Deputy District Attorney BJ Park, who prosecuted the case. “Over a two month period in 2013, Tyler Wilkerson victimized two sisters, both of whom were minors, multiple times. The trauma and damage he has inflicted will be long lasting and this sentence holds him accountable for this betrayal and abuse.”
Wilkerson "violated the trust of two little girls,” their mother said in court. "They have to live with this for the rest of their lives."
The Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office started its criminal investigation in April 2017 after one of the victims disclosed being sexually abused. Following the initial investigation, the case was presented to a grand jury in August 2017 and a true bill was returned.
Source: Multnomah County District Attorney