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Published on January 14, 2025
Oregon Fiend Sent Down for Gruesome Assault of Wheelchair-Bound Woman on the Streets of Washington CountySource: Facebook/Washington County District Attorney's Office

A 54-year-old Oregon man has been convicted of the heinous assault and sexual assault on a homeless, physically disabled woman, the Washington County jury concluded this past Thursday, as KOIN reported. The woman, bound to a wheelchair, was asleep on a sidewalk when the attack began in 2023, spotlighting the vulnerability of the unhoused and physically impaired.

The convicted, identified as Fitzgerald, later moved the victim to a secluded area where he perpetrated the assault for an excruciating 40-minute duration, the terror of the attack was magnified not just by the physical violence but the layer of sexual violation. The victim's testimony, which painted a stark and horrifying picture of her ordeal, stated "She could not escape because she was confined to a wheelchair and unable to move quickly enough to get away," signaling a chilling abuse of power and mobility, according to KATU's coverage.

The assault was fortuitously interrupted by a street sweeper entering the scene, and although Fitzgerald fled, his capture was expedited within ten minutes at a nearby transit center. Post-arrest, despite claiming amnesia post offering the victim money, Fitzgerald consented to DNA swabbing by the police. It matched the victim's DNA on his body, as per KPVT.

The Washington County District Attorney's office listed the convictions which included first-degree assault, second-degree assault, first-degree sodomy (x2), first-degree sexual abuse (x3), first-degree kidnapping, first-degree attempted rape, and first-degree unlawful sexual penetration, as detailed by KPTV.