PORTLAND, Ore. — A man accused of kidnapping a woman with developmental disabilities in Southeast Portland and sexually abusing her early last week has since been released from jail pending future court proceedings.
Portland police arrested 68-year-old Robert Joseph Bryant on Monday, Sept. 16 after a brief but hectic effort to find the 22-year-old woman, who police said functions intellectually at the level of a 5-year-old child.
The woman lives at a group home for vulnerable adults in Southeast Portland. She was out on a supervised walk late Monday morning when a caregiver saw her getting into a white Dodge truck. The employee told police that they got in front of the truck and tried to prevent the driver from leaving, but had to jump out of the way as the driver accelerated.
Officers were able to request an emergency "ping" of the woman's phone, finding her about 20 minutes later and less than a quarter-mile away.
According to court documents, the woman described being sexually abused by the man before he gave her money. They found $20 in her pocket.
Police tracked down the white truck about an hour later in the Sellwood neighborhood, where they arrested Bryant. He claimed that he thought the woman was in a domestic dispute and was trying to help her get away, according to court documents.
Bryant was booked into jail and later indicted on charges of first-degree kidnapping, second-degree kidnapping, two counts of first-degree sex abuse, and one count each of coercion, unlawful use of a weapon, second-degree attempted assault and public indecency.
Despite the seriousness of the charges, a public safety assessment conducted for Bryant by Multnomah County Pretrial Release Services recommended he be released on his own recognizance — noted in the document as "RoR" — due in large part to his sparse criminal history.
Court documents show that the Multnomah County District Attorney's office filed a motion on Monday requesting that the judge keep him in jail.
"There is clear and convincing evidence that Defendant presents danger of physical injury to members of the public, and the court should therefore find the violent felony offenses with which he is charged not releasable under ORS l35.240(4)," a memorandum reads.
While the DA's office acknowledged Bryant's lack of past convictions, they said he was charged with prostitution in 1995 before the case was later dismissed.
"At its core, this case involves Mr. Bryant, while a minute from his home, convincing an extremely intellectually delayed woman to get into his car so that he could sexually assault her," the DA's office argued. "And when someone tried to intervene, Mr. Bryant drove vehicle at them to get away.
"And then Mr. Bryant, in manner consistent with what the prostitution case he was charged with in 1995, sexually assaulted the victim before giving her $20 and letting her out of his car. This incident shows that not only is Mr. Bryant ready to commit acts of sexual violence on vulnerable victims when given the opportunity, but he is also ready to commit acts of violence in order to get away with it."
The DA's office argued that Bryant could commit a similar crime again, and that there would be "nothing to deter" him from victimizing the woman with intellectual disabilities, knowing that she lives a minute away from his home.
Court documents show that a judge determined that there was not clear and convincing evidence that there would be a danger to the victim or members of the public if Bryant were to be released. The judge ultimately granted Bryant conditional pretrial release.
Bryant was ordered not to have contact with the victim or her caregiver and to stay at least 300 feet away from their location. He must also comply with GPS monitoring and submit to "house arrest" except to leave for medical and legal appointments, or to make pre-approved grocery shopping trips to a single Fred Meyer location.
A woman who identified herself to KGW as the victim’s group home manager declined to be on camera but said Bryant’s release is a risk for not just the victim, but her whole crew.
“I don't know how they came to that decision,” she said. “I don't want anything bad to happen to her or my staff. It doesn't feel safe. We were relieved when he was in custody.”
Neighbor Sue Purnick said the whole incident — both the kidnapping and now Bryant’s release to a home just blocks away from the victim — is shocking.
“My kids saw something was going on, and they went out and found out what happened," Purnick said. "At that point I was wondering, 'What the hell is going on in our neighborhood?'”
Purnick said that she’s not scared, but she would be frightened if she had small children.
Another neighbor who didn’t want to share their name said they'd thought Bryant was a nice guy, but now feared they were wrong.
“I am extremely upset and concerned about what he did and that a judge would release him,” she said.
Yet another neighbor, who also remained anonymous, said, “There must have been a misstep in the system to allow someone accused of these crimes to come back to the neighborhood, where the victim lives and kids live right next door.”
The next court appearance for Bryant is an arraignment scheduled for Oct. 9.