HILLSBORO, Ore.- On March 15, 2019, Washington County Judge Theodore Sims sentenced Samuel de Jesus Santos-Vasquez to 225 months in prison. In January of 2019, Santos-Vasquez was convicted of two counts of First-Degree Sex Abuse, First-Degree Sodomy and Second-Degree Unlawful Sexual Penetration. Deputy District Attorney Chris Lewman prosecuted the case against Santos-Vasquez.

On Thanksgiving weekend of 2018, Santos-Vasquez attended a party at a family member’s home. He snuck away from the party and entered the room of a 11-year-old girl who was sleeping at the time. He then began to molest her. He left the room when family members called for him but returned back two times throughout the night. A family member spotted Santos-Vasquez leaving the victim’s room. The victim made a disclosure of abuse to a school counselor the next week, prompting the initial investigation.

The Washington County Sheriff’s Office launched an investigation and determined the abuse had been ongoing for the past two years. The victim was interviewed by experts at CARES Northwest and underwent an examination at Randall Children’s Hospital. Evidence and testimony collected during those visits were vital in Santos-Vasquez’s conviction. We’d also like to acknowledge the work of Washington County Sheriff’s Office Detective Charles Anderson on this case.

In addition to his sentence, Santos-Vasquez will also undergo 10 years of post-prison supervision. He has been transferred to the Oregon Department of Corrections to begin serving his sentence.

HILLSBORO, Ore.- On March 19, 2019, Washington County Judge Janelle Wipper sentenced Leo Gabonia to 375 months in prison. On March 14, 2019, Gabonia was convicted of eight sex abuse-related charges including First-Degree Sodomy, First-Degree Sexual Penetration and First-Degree Sex Abuse. The case against Gabonia was prosecuted by Deputy District Attorney Chris Lewman.

Forest Grove Police first began investigating Gabonia in September of 2017 after the then nine-year-old victim made disclosures of abuse to a family member. That family member then contacted police who began the investigation.

Gabonia was known to the family and used that connection to gain access to the victim. Police learned the abuse began two years prior to the disclosure with inappropriate touching and kissing and quickly escalated from there. Based on victim accounts and the expertise from staff at Randall Children’s Hospital and CARES Northwest, police gathered enough evidence to move forward with charges against Gabonia.

Gabonia became very upset after the verdict was issued. He jumped on a table in the courtroom and declared he had nothing to live for. He then attempted to jump from a 4th story window but was taken into custody by Washington County sheriff’s deputies.

The Washington County District Attorney’s Office would like to acknowledge the work of Forest Grove Police Detective Charles McCutcheon for his work on this case.

Gabonia will be transferred to the Oregon Department of Corrections to begin serving his sentence.

HILLSBORO, Ore.- On March 21, 2019, Marcus Dale Jolley pleaded guilty to three counts of Second-Degree Sexual Abuse and was sentenced to two years in prison by Washington County Judge Charles Bailey. District Attorney Kevin Barton prosecuted the case against Jolley.

Tigard Police began investigating Jolley in May of 2017 after a female student at Tigard High School reported to school staff that Jolley had inappropriately touched her. Jolley served as a teacher at the high school but left to take a position at Sherwood Middle School. That student decided to come forward after she heard Jolley was planning a possible return to Tigard High School. She indicated she was afraid for the safety of other female students and came forward to protect others.

Over the course of their investigation, detectives obtained a search warrant to gain access to Tigard High School internal records and uncovered evidence of prior concerning incidents involving Jolley and students. In those cases, previous students accused Jolley of inappropriate touching and kissing dating back to 2006. None of those prior incidents were reported to law enforcement or the Oregon Department of Human Services.

A second victim was also identified during the investigation. It was discovered she had an ongoing sexual relationship with Jolley while he was a teacher and she was a student. This abuse occurred in 2005 but was never reported to authorities.

The Washington County District Attorney’s Office would like to acknowledge the hard work of the Tigard Police on this challenging case. These crimes would not have been discovered had it not been for the perseverance and dedication of a Tigard school resource officer.

In addition to his prison sentence, Judge Bailey ordered Jolley to register as a sex offender and to have no contact with his victims. He is also ordered to have no contact with schools or minors and will undergo five years of post-prison supervision once he is released.

Mr. Jolley will be transferred to the Oregon Department of Corrections to begin serving his sentence.

HILLSBORO, Ore.- On March 14, 2019, Reachana Chan was sentenced to 20 years in prison by Judge Oscar Garcia. Chan pleaded guilty to Using a Child in a Display of Sexually Explicit Conduct, two counts of Second-Degree Rape, Second-Degree Sexual Abuse and Third-Degree Sexual Abuse. The convictions represent the sex abuse of five victims between 12-16 years old. The defendant was a stranger to all the victims and targeted the young girls on social media. Deputy District Attorney Allison Brown prosecuted the case against Chan.

Beaverton Police Detective Maggie Brown began investigating the defendant in late 2017. The initial report involved two victims who were sexually assaulted by the defendant when they were 16. The crimes were similar in that the defendant contacted the children online, met them in person and engaged in unwanted sexual conduct. The defendant was arrested on these charges in March of 2018. 

After the defendant’s arrest, police learned of three additional victims. All three were ages 12-13 when they met Chan through social media. While each case is different, the pattern of abuse is the same. Chan would contact the victims and lie about his age. He would then take compromising photos and videos of the girls and later use that material to blackmail them into sexual relations.

In one case, Chan even used a knife to threaten a victim and forced her to perform sexual acts on him. He let her go, but then repeated the pattern and threatened to send out photos he had taken of her. He then forced her to meet him again and repeated the attack.

In addition to his prison sentence, the defendant cannot have contact with minors and is barred from using the internet, a computer, or smart phones.  He is also required to register as a sex offender. 

Chan will be transferred to the Oregon Department of Corrections to begin serving his sentence.

HILLSBORO, Ore.- On March 12, 2019, Tanya Roxanna Schmalz pleaded guilty to the Attempted Murder of her estranged ex-husband, Jonathan Schmalz. Judge Charles Bailey sentenced Schmalz to 90 months in prison. Chief Deputy District Attorney Bracken McKey prosecuted the case against Schmalz.

Hillsboro Police first began investigating Schmalz in November of 2018 when they got a call from a concerned citizen. That caller reported that her friend, later identified as Schmalz, had talked about killing her estranged ex-husband. The friend said Schmalz planned to spray a can of Rush—a substance known to have a euphoric and disorienting effect— onto the victim’s face then inject him with a syringe of cold insulin. Schmalz believed the substances would kill the man.

Police met with the caller and found her story to be credible. Detective Anthony Johnson soon took over the investigation and applied for a court order allowing the friend to wear a body wire. The friend then captured Schmalz on tape discussing the planned murder of her ex-husband. When officers arrested Schmalz they found a can of Rush and a full syringe of insulin.

Over the course of the investigation, detectives learned that Schmalz made a similar attempt on the victim’s life in 2016. In that instance, she laced a bottle of alcohol with an unknown substance and gave it to him. He was later found by Hillsboro Police wandering incoherently in and out of traffic on a busy street. He was taken to the hospital at the time.

In addition to her prison sentence, Schmalz will also undergo three years of post-prison supervision. She will be transferred to the Oregon Department of Corrections to begin serving her sentence.

HILLSBORO, Ore.- On March 7, 2019, Ryan Christopher Mutchler was sentenced to 60 days in jail after he pleaded guilty to one count of Second-Degree Online Sexual Corruption of a Child. Judge Charles Bailey issued the sentence. The case was prosecuted by Deputy District Attorney Allison Brown and investigated by Beaverton Police Detective Chad Opitz.

The 31-year-old defendant was a youth pastor at Mountain Park Church and a band teacher at Aloha High School. The charges involve a 14-year-old child he met at a church camp in the summer of 2018. He befriended the child and began communicating with her. His text messages were sexual in nature and he suggested meeting up with the child to engage in sexual activities.

The child’s parents became concerned after noticing several red flags. They spoke with the child and immediately contacted police to report the defendant. Detective Chad Opitz pretended to be the child in online conversations with the defendant. Mutchler then unknowingly sent sexually explicit messages to the undercover detective. He was arrested in September of 2018.

The child’s parents were present in court and made emotional victim impact statements. The Court commended them for noticing the red flags and intervening before this defendant was able to physically meet with the child. The DA’s Office shares these sentiments.

“While the contact this defendant had with this child is significant and will undoubtedly affect her for a very long time, this child’s parents’ attentiveness and swift action prevented further abuse to this child,” Brown said.

In addition to his jail sentence, Judge Bailey sentenced the defendant to five years supervised probation, ordered him to undergo child sex offender treatment and required him to register as a sex offender.