DA Won’t Press Charges After Alleged PSU Sex Assault on Eden Paul

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Friday, October 31, 2014

Shelby Sebens, GoLocalPDX Reporter

The Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office will not prosecute the alleged on-campus rape of PSU student Eden Paul, officials told GoLocalPDX Thursday. 

Eden Paul, a 20-year-old PSU student, told GoLocalPDX in September that she was raped on campus. 

Paul’s supporter and fellow PSU student Susana Ruiz was outraged at the DA. 

“That’s ridiculous. That’s absurd. Just the fact that they’re just letting him go without even a slap on the wrist, no,” she said. “What makes it so unfortunate is this just shows to other women if something happens to you, if you get sexually assaulted, it’s fine. It’s going to make them (victims) more scared and worried.”  

Four months after the alleged rape, the DA’s office has decided not to to go forward with the case. 

“We are not going to be prosecuting the case,” said Chris Ramras, Multnomah County Senior Deputy District Attorney. “You have to be able to prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt and we cannot do that with the evidence in this case.” 

According to Paul, an initially consensual sexual experience with a male student in the early hours of June 1 turned into a case of rape.

“The sex turned into un-consensual during the act,” Paul told GoLocalPDX in September. “I started to experience a lot of pain and I expressed that to the person multiple times and he struck me when I tried to use any sort of self defense and choked me.” 

In a police report that was taken June 3 after Paul went to Emanuel Hospital to get checked out and report the alleged rape, she tells officers she had met her alleged perpetrator when partying with friends and early in the morning hours went to his room. She told officers she remembers being on her back and having sex. 

"She was in pain and told the suspect to stop. He would not," PSU campus police officer M. Horton’s  states in a police report taken at the hospital. "Trying to stop the suspect, Ms. Paul pulled his hair and tried to push him away. She repeatedly implored him to stop because he was hurting her. He responded by trying to choke her with his hands around her neck. Although she does not remember him hitting her, she had much vivid bruising on her chest at her examination at the hospital." 

Horton goes on to state: “I learned from officer (Rachel) Sandler that a rape kit, clothing and tampon had been placed into evidence … Although I had not met (the alleged rape victim) before, she appeared fatigued. She sat on the exam table with a blanket across her lap. She seemed to have her shoulders slumped. Throughout our conversation, she made good eye contact and chose her words appropriately.” 

Paul declined a second interview, saying she has been advised by legal counsel not to comment. She has retained Portland civil attorney Gloria Trainor.

Trainor said Paul was considering suing, but declined to say anything else.

“Because of the posture of potential litigation, I don’t have a comment at this time," Paul's attorney Trainor said. 

It’s frustrating, but statistics show that prosecution rate on rape cases is “very, very low and dismal,” said Diana Camarillo, sexual violence program coordinator for the Oregon Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence. “It really puts a cynical stamp around the justice system and how it actually works,” she said. 

Paul told GoLocalPDX in an exclusive interview in September that the school failed to properly investigate and pursue her rape complaint. 

In August, the University’s Student Code of Conduct Committee held a hearing on Paul’s rape complaint. Eden previously told GoLocalPDX the committee called her via phone to interview her and only asked her a few  questions. The committee was made up of students, faculty and administrators. 

Shortly after the incident Paul left Portland to be with her parents in New Hampshire. Just 10 days after the Aug. 8 hearing, Portland State University sent Paul an email stating that the Student Conduct Committee determined that the accused was not responsible for rape. She has appealed her case.

Though Paul has said the school’s code of conduct focused largely on how much alcohol she was drinking, her contention was that the sex became non consensual and that the alleged perpetrator became physical.  

“There’s always a point of being able to stop,” Camarillo said, speaking in general and not to this specific case. “Whether there may have been some consent implied, the consent is revoked at any time. And so once a person says "no", "stop" or any combination, then that’s it. If the alleged person decides to make the choice to pursue it from there, then the line’s already been crossed.”

Taking Action 

Ruiz is not backing down. She will take her concerns about Paul’s case and what she sees as a problem at PSU to the Portland City Council. City officials confirmed she’s scheduled to speak at the regular meeting Nov. 12. 

“I really think something should be done. I don’t understand what more evidence you would want. There was physical evidence all over her body,” she said. “I don’t want women to be scared of speaking out.” 

College campuses in Oregon are moving to create their own armed police forces, in part to deal with sexual assault cases. PSU is expected to vote on its own force by December.  

Ruiz said she wants to send the message that rape cases should not be pushed off. 

“This is, unfortunately, like a reoccurring situation that happens to a lot of girls. It shouldn’t be taken so lightly,” she said. 

Ruiz said she continues to let PSU officials know about the Change.org petition she started in response to Paul’s case, which has over 100,000 signatures. 

Related Articles

• EXCLUSIVE: PSU Student Says School Failed to Properly Investigate Rape Complaint
• Oregon Universities Fail to Fully Report Campus Sexual Assaults

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