State

Former Staffer Says Lawmaker Threatened to Push Her Off Multnomah Falls

Rep. Brian Stout was removed from his House committee assignments in January soon after he arrived in Salem. He says he was framed.

By Anthony Effinger
pexels-photo-258108 Multnomah Falls (Creative Commons)

The woman accusing Rep. Brian Stout (R- Columbia City) of sexual assault took the stand in a hearing March 29 to determine whether a five-year sexual abuse protective order against Stout should stay in place.

The woman, a volunteer on one of Stout’s campaigns, said the two of them agreed to have an intimate relationship in 2020. According to the Columbia County Spotlight, the woman testified that Stout told her: “By the way, if you ever tell anyone about this, we will walk to Multnomah Falls and I will push you over the cliff.”

On the first day of the hearing, held Jan. 13, Stout denied he had sexually abused the woman on any of five occasions she detailed in her Nov. 7 petition for the protective order, calling her accounts “flat-out lies.” The hearing is scheduled to continue April 25.

Stout was removed from his House committee assignments in January soon after he arrived in Salem.

Nicholas Herman, Stout’s attorney, says, “Mr. Stout looks forward to being vindicated through a dismissal of the sham restraining order after the hearing is completed.”

Anthony Effinger

Anthony Effinger

Anthony Effinger writes about the intersection of government, business and non-profit organizations for Willamette Week. A Colorado native, he has lived in Portland since 1995. Before joining Willamette Week, he worked at Bloomberg News for two decades, covering overpriced Montana real estate and billionaires behaving badly.

Willamette Week’s reporting has real-life impact that changes laws, forces action by civic leaders, and drives compromised politicians from public office.

Support WW.

Support