My friend Erin Olson and I filed a case today on behalf of a sweet, wonderful little girl who was terribly abused by a neighbor boy at her Canby apartment. Here’s the press release:
Portland, OR — Lawyers representing a young toddler filed suit on her behalf today against Norris & Stevens and a Canby apartment complex known as Willamette Grove apartments, alleging that the girl suffered rape and molestation at the hands of a violent and dangerous neighbor boy when management failed to warn of the risk they knew he posed.
The suit, filed in Multnomah County Circuit Court, alleges that the apartment complex manager had previously received multiple reports of the boy engaging in acts including threatening other young children with a knife and inappropriately peeping in the bedroom window of another young child, but had taken no action in response to the reports.
“Apartment management had ample warning that the boy posed a risk to others is in the complex, and particularly to children younger than him, and they chose to protect the boy rather than the other residents.” said Erin Olson, one of the attorneys representing the interests of the victim.
Kristian Roggendorf, another attorney representing the victim added, “Apartment complexes in Oregon have a responsibility to warn their residents about known dangers, even when those dangers are other residents.”
The suit, which names as defendants Norris and Stevens and Grand Oaks Willamette, LLC, also alleges that the apartment’s management attempted to evict the victim’s family after family members complained to management about the assault, and warned other residents with small children of the danger posed by the assailant.
This case is truly tragic all the way around. Our client was seriously harmed, but the boy is also obviously deeply damaged. The management’s protecting him only emboldened him to take his actions to a terrible new level, and for that, Norris & Stevens and Grand Oaks Willamette must be held to account. It deeply saddens me that they ever allowed this boy to go so far, and yet still tried t keep it secret, even after the abuse was disclosed.
