CHILD ABUSE INVESTIGATIONS:A COMMITMENT TOCLOSURE FOR VICTIMSThe Violent Crimes Unit consists of full-time detectivesdedicated to investigating various violent crimes, includingchild abuse. Child abuse crimes may include sexualabuse, serious physical injury, drug exposure, or childpornography. While Patrol Division deputies investigatemore straightforward child abuse cases, detectives handlemore complex cases. The detectives’ goal is to solve casesand expedite justice for victims; however, the nature ofthese cases is difficult and complex. A typical investigationcan take 6-18 months, from initial report to case closure.One disturbing child sexual abuse case began in May2019 and ended with the final conviction in September of2021. The case involved three family members who wereultimately convicted of child sexual abuse of five victims,with the youngest being five years old at the time theabuse began and sentenced from 55 to more than 81 yearsin prison for their crimes. One subject was already servingtime in prison on another conviction of child sex abusewhen they were indicted. The subject’s brother and ex-wifewere also indicted and convicted in the case. The abusecarried out by these three began when the children wereyoung and continued for many years.*Overall crime rate for five most populous counties in Oregonaccording to most recent data published by FBI NationalIncident Based Reporting System (NIBRS).According to Detective Mark Povolny of the WashingtonCounty Sheriff’s Office (WCSO), the case began with a call tolaw enforcement from one of the victims in May 2019. Thecall set off a series of investigations. Detectives worked inpartnership with the Department of Human Services (DHS),Patrol, Detectives, Cares Northwest, and a civilian supporttranslator. The initial investigation led to the arrest of thefirst suspect, and over the next six weeks, there were twomore arrests. The investigation included a trip to Salemto interview the suspect, who was already incarceratedon another sex abuse case. Victims’ advocacy throughthe District Attorney’s Office helped the child victims andwas pivotal in supporting them through the long trials,including initial grand jury proceedings. Three separatejury trials let to three individual convictions. Our partners atHillsboro Police also took a report and connected it with thiscase at WCSO. We are very proud of the victims for havingthe courage to come forward and testify multiple times. Weare grateful for our detectives’ hard work and the incrediblepartnerships that, in the end, resulted in justice for thesevery deserving victims.WCSO 2021 Annual Report | 21
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