PORTLAND, Ore. — A Hillsboro man is accused of sexually abusing a minor after his rental car got stuck in the snow in the Clatsop State Forest near Knappa, Ore. last week and responding sheriff’s deputies discovered he had a 13-year-old girl with him.
Christopher Knox, 37, faces charges of second-degree attempted rape and custodial interference. Additional charges may be added as the investigation continues, deputies said.
Knox introduced the girl as his daughter during the Feb. 15 encounter, deputies said, but they soon determined she was not related to Knox and she had left her home in King County, Wash. without her parents’ knowledge.
Investigators learned Knox had sexually abused the girl near her home before bringing her to Oregon, according to the Clatsop County Sheriff’s Office.
The girl was taken to a local hospital and later reunited with her parents.
Investigators said Knox knew the girl and her mother, whom he met online.
The sheriff’s office believes Knox may have sexually abused the girl earlier in the evening on Feb. 15 while stopped in a state park or rest area between Tacoma, Wash. and Astoria, Oregon. Knox was driving a black 2018 Dodge Journey (photo of similar vehicle below) with California license plates.
Anyone who saw Knox or the vehicle is asked to call the Clatsop County Sheriff’s Office.
