March 18, 2021
DA Mike Schmidt, Portland Police seek information on sex crimes investigation
PORTLAND, Ore. – Today, Multnomah County District Attorney Mike Schmidt announced the arrest of 34-year-old John Damron III as part of a complex and ongoing criminal investigation being handled by the Portland Police Bureau’s Enhanced Community Safety Team.
The Portland Police Bureau and the Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office are seeking immediate information from the community to determine whether there are additional victims. Based on the investigation, law enforcement believes there are multiple, unknown victims who have not talked with either police or prosecutors.
Damron III is charged with 190 counts. The charges include using a child in a display of sexually explicit conduct, purchasing sex with a minor, luring a minor, online sexual corruption of a child, sodomy in the third degree, sexual abuse in the third degree, coercion, and encouraging child sexual abuse in the first degree.
Law enforcement have identified more than six individual victims as part of their investigation.
The ages of the victims range from 14-17 years old.
In an effort to determine whether there are additional victims, the district attorney’s office is releasing the following information for the public’s awareness to help with the ongoing investigation:
Darmon III is accused of contacting minors using social media apps and then paying them to provide sexually explicit images, and luring them to his residence in Northeast Portland where he would take sexually explicit images of the victims and engage in sexual contact with them while knowing their ages. Darmon III is also accused of threatening the minors to post the sexually explicit images online.
The Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office and Portland Police Bureau have met with the families of the known victims to discuss the status of this case.
The families and victims are requesting privacy and do not want media contact.
Anyone with information on this case is asked to call Portland Police Bureau Detective Meghan Burkeen at 503-823- 2092 or via e-mail at Meghan.Burkeen@portlandoregon.gov.
Community members can also use the District Attorney’s Case Tip Line at 503-988-0340.
No additional information can be released by the Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office at this time.
A charging document is only an accusation of a crime. Darmon III is innocent unless and until proven guilty.
#MCDA#
Media Contact:
Brent Weisberg, Communications Director
Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office
Email: Brent.Weisberg@mcda.us