HILLSBORO, Ore. — Editor's note: This story contains video and descriptions of sexual assault that may be triggering for some readers.
Last spring, a Washington County woman was sexually assaulted by a young man who'd followed her off a MAX train. The incident was captured on surveillance cameras. But when her attacker pleaded guilty, the woman says she was shocked to learn that a judge had decided to bump down the man's primary charge from a felony to a misdemeanor.
Kristen Emerson is a woman in recovery, serving as an outreach worker who interfaces with the homeless in Washington County.
On April 12, 2023, Emerson was on her way home from a Narcotics Anonymous meeting, according to court testimony. She walked to a MAX station in downtown Hillsboro, where video captured what happened next.
As Emerson arrived, a young man in a gray hoodie was already there — 19-year-old Jacob Ponse. On the video, Ponse seems to notice Emerson arriving, looking over at her several times.
Emerson went to board an eastbound MAX train and Ponse followed closely. He can be seen brushing her behind with his hand as she stepped into the train.
In a recent one-on-one interview with The Story's Pat Dooris, Emerson said she took note of Ponse and thought he may have been the one who touched her — but she wasn't sure at the time if perhaps she had accidentally bumped into something.
"I'd seen him sitting there and I was in the corner the whole time just, you know, on my phone," Emerson said. "But I noticed the pants and the shoes for some reason, just because that's all I'd seen from where I was standing."
Emerson sat down on the train. Video aboard the MAX car shows that Ponse got on after her, close behind, then sat on the aisle across from her.
After a 12-minute ride, the train arrived at the Willow Creek MAX station and Emerson got off. Security cameras show that Ponse, still in his gray hoodie, followed her.
'It was violating'
In court, Washington County prosecutor Bryce Bissinger described what happened next at the Willow Creek station.
"He then comes up behind her with his left hand, his two middle fingers upraised, and penetrates her from behind," Bissinger said.
Emerson recalled that the contact was so forceful, she felt like he was trying to lift her off the ground.
"And I like turned, and it all happened so fast, but I turned and I look at him," she said. "And I'm pretty sure I pushed him — like, 'What the hell?!' And then he slapped me, he slapped me on my side, like, so hard ... like it was hard, like he was strong for being a skinny, scrawny guy."
"It was violating," Emerson added. "So violating. I just think about my daughter or my niece ... if something like that happened to them."
Police swarmed the area, found Ponse and arrested him.
Nearly a year later, on April 2, 2024, Ponse appeared in court just ahead of what would have been his trial on a felony charge of second-degree sex abuse and misdemeanor third-degree sex abuse.
During that hearing, things took an unexpected turn. Washington County Judge Janelle Wipper decided that she would knock the felony charge down to a misdemeanor after Ponse decided to plead guilty on the two original charges.
A judge using their discretion in this way is allowed under law. But lawyers not connected to the case or Washington County told Dooris that it typically only happens when the prosecutor offers it up as part of a plea deal. For a judge to impose the change unprompted was highly unusual.
Justice for whom?
The prosecutor was furious at Wipper's decision, and said as much in open court.
"Judge, this is a shocking and frankly horrifying incident that occurred in broad daylight, between a stranger and a victim that he obviously and clearly stalked," Bissinger argued. "I do not believe that the community will be served by giving this man a misdemeanor conviction. Frankly the victim does not agree with this sentence either."
But defense attorney Annette Riddle argued that charging Ponse with felony second-degree sex abuse was too harsh.
"I've had sex abuse (in) two cases where the facts were much, much more egregious than this," Riddle said. "And that's because the statute of Sex Abuse II encompasses all nonconsensual sexual conduct including sexual intercourse that is nonconsensual ... This is a creepy thing that is horrible and horrifying and there is absolute shock value. And you watch it and it's terrible, and I'm not trying to discount it in any way. But it is really different than having nonconsensual sexual intercourse."
Judge Wipper agreed with Riddle, despite acknowledging that she, too, was shocked by the crime.
"Look, I think this is a great example of, 'Two things can be true at the same time.' It is completely true that this was shocking, it was horrible, it was disgusting, and Ms. Emerson was violated in a way that absolutely should not have happened," Wipper said. "It is something — I share the shocking nature of what was seen on the video, and I understand why the state is taking the position it's taking. However, it's also true at the same time, that this is an individual who is, or at the time of the incident, was barely 19, has no previous criminal history, and at least at this point is showing accountability and remorse for his actions."
"Given the factors such as the lack of criminal history, the desire to take accountability today and spare the victim of having to speak in court in front of strangers, does in this court's opinion create a need to give Mr. Ponse immediate misdemeanor treatment," Wipper concluded.
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Emerson said she was stunned by the judge's decision, and she was left feeling like the court was more concerned about Ponse, the offender, than herself.
"I was just sick," Emerson said. "And appalled. I couldn't believe it. And honestly, everybody that was there that day couldn't — we were all just in shock."
The prosecutor pushed for a sentence of 90 days in jail. The judge gave Ponse 30 days. She also ordered him to undergo sex offender treatment, mandated that he register as a sex offender and banned him from TriMet property for five years. She put him on a five-year probation period, which the prosecutor had asked for.
But Ponse was not convicted of a felony, and the message to Emerson was crushing.
"Video evidence doesn't lie," Emerson said, adding that there was other testimony at the trial to support her account. "(The judge) was like, 'Nope, we're going to knock it down to a misdemeanor' .... It felt like, seriously, I was in a nightmare. I never understand. I will never understand."
The Story emailed Wipper to ask for an interview or statement on the case. She did not respond, but the presiding judge in Washington County, Judge Rebecca Guptill, did respond with a statement. Her response reads, in part:
"I can see that despite the reduction to a misdemeanor, the penalties imposed are actually more severe in many ways and likely more protective of the community. For instance, by reducing the offense to a misdemeanor, the judge was able to impose five years of formal probation with strict conditions, including a lengthier duration of no contact with the victim, whereas a felony conviction would have resulted in only three years of formal probation based on the defendant's lack of prior criminal history."
As Ponse was originally charged with both a felony and a misdemeanor, it's unclear if that could have resulted in the extra penalties not imposed by the felony.
The Story also reached out to the Washington County District Attorney's office, which provided this statement, in part:
"We strongly believe the predatory conduct in this case required a felony level conviction and we stand by all of the arguments we made in court for that result. The victim in this case and the community at large deserve a system that holds criminals fully accountable for their actions. We made that argument in this case and will continue to do so in the future."