The U.S. Attorney’s Office announced on March 4, 2022 that it has charged former Beaverton mayor Dennis “Denny” Doyle with possessing child pornography. Doyle is 73 years old. He served as a councilman in Beaverton for more than a decade. He was elected as Beaverton’s mayor in 2008. He served three terms until 2020. The […]
Understanding Sexual Abuse – Books, Experience, and Listening to our Clients
Understanding sexual abuse is hard. And who wants to try? Sexual abuse is not a subject anyone wants to think about, let alone read about and study. But our clients live with the sexual abuse they went through when they were kids, or sexual assault as adults, so Ashley and I try to learn as […]
Sexual Abuse at Catlin Gabel School: Initial Report
A shocking report of sexual abuse at Catlin Gabel School (CGS) released last month revealed that at least nine former teachers and staff members sexually molested or exploited students. The abuse dates back to the 1970’s. The report documents complaints and allegations of sexual impropriety with students involving as many as 21 adults at the […]
Victim of Mark Laverdure, Convicted Child Sex Offender, Sues Native American Youth and Family Center for Child Abuse
VICTIM OF MARK LAVERDURE, CONVICTED CHILD SEX OFFENDER, SUES NATIVE AMERICAN YOUTH AND FAMILY CENTER FOR CHILD ABUSE In a lawsuit filed today in Multnomah County, a woman alleges she was sexually assaulted as a teenager by Mark Laverdure when she was a student at the Early College Academy (now known as Many Nations […]
Ashley Vaughn Awarded the Arthur H. Bryant Public Justice Award
Dumas & Vaughn partner Ashley Vaughn was recently awarded the Arthur H. Bryant Public Justice Award by the Oregon Trials Lawyers Association. This prestigious award is only awarded once a year. Ashley received the award as one of a group of four female attorneys who represented women who had been sexually harassed at the Oregon […]
Hazing and Sex Assaults-Know the Difference!
Recently, the Associated Press published an important article on how the sexual assault of teenagers, particularly high school boys who participate in sports, is passed off as harmless hazing rituals. This “re-framing” is a dangerous phenomenon meant to minimize the trauma of sexual abuse in youth. In an odd way, it’s also a way for […]
Baltimore Doctor Y.K. Ramaiah Accused of Sexual Assault
Dr. Y.K. Ramaiah has been accused of sexually assaulting a patient 25 years ago when he practiced medicine in East Baltimore. The former patient contends that she was sexually assaulted by the doctor when she was 17 years old. During the assault, the examination room was locked and there was no female staff present in […]
Sexual Assault — A Growing National Problem
Whether sexual assaults have always occurred but never reported is open for debate. What isn’t debatable is the epidemic volume of reported sexual assaults reported nationwide. Such reports do not favor one age group, race, sex, or socio-economic class. What is clear is that the number of reported sexual assaults is up and way up. […]