Douglas L. Braaten
Editor’s note: this article contains details which may be unsuitable for children.
A La Center man received a 10-year prison sentence for sexual abuse and attempted kidnapping last week.
Douglas Braaten, 62, received his sentence April 10, following a guilty plea for one count of first-degree attempted kidnapping and one count of first-degree sexual abuse, according to a release from the Multnomah County District Attorney’s office.
The sentence comes more than a year after the crimes.
The release stated that around 7:30 p.m. March 6, 2018, the victim was eating in the parking lot of a convenience store near the intersection of Northeast 82nd Avenue and Northeast Sandy Boulevard in Portland. Braaten got the attention of the victim and after a discussion, the victim asked for a ride in Braaten’s vehicle to a location in the city.
While driving Braaten passed the interstate exit for the victim’s stop, continuing eastbound on Interstate 84 into the Columbia River Gorge, the release stated. The victim alerted authorities of an attempted kidnapping by texting 911.
Braaten exited I-84 at Bridal Veil, pulling into a gravel parking lot where he made threatening statements, according to the release. It notes the victim was able to see red and blue emergency lights while being sexually abused and was able to honk the vehicle’s horn. Multnomah County Sheriff’s deputies located the vehicle where they found the victim with pants “pulled down below the knee.”
The Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office Human Sex Trafficking Team litigated the case, which includes two attorneys, an investigator, and a victim advocate, the release stated. The case was prosecuted by Multnomah County Deputy District Attorney Mike Botthof.
