DA sues Oregon parole board over rapist's release

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - The Multnomah County district attorney sued the state parole board in an effort to keep a convicted rapist in prison.

The parole board decided last month that 48-year-old Richard Gillmore, known as the Jogger Rapist, will be released in January.

The district attorney and a woman raped by Gillmore when she was 13 filed nearly identical lawsuits last week that will probably be combined. They say Gillmore is still dangerous and the parole board violated state law by failing to notify the victim of a 1988 hearing that made Gillmore eligible for parole earlier than expected.

The suits also claim the board failed to notify the victim of a September hearing and that the board opted to release Gillmore without evidence he could be treated. Suing the parole board is a first for the district attorney, and it's the only such move by a government agency in at least seven years, lawyers told The Oregonian newspaper.

"We're trying to correct what we think is a gross mistake," Senior Deputy District Attorney Russ Ratto told the paper on Monday. "We don't think the parole board had any facts upon which to base this decision. It's a flawed decision."

Nancy Sellers, executive director for the parole board, declined to comment.

Gillmore was convicted in the 1986 rape of the 13-year-old and sentenced in 1987. In issuing a sentence of at least 30 years, the judge also considered six other rapes that police suspected Gillmore of committing but for which he could not be charged because of the statute of limitations.

The victim's attorney, Douglas Beloof, claims the parole board erred in 1988 when it determined the sentence of at least 30 years in prison was "not necessary to protect the public."

Two decades later, the parole board on Oct. 23 found that Gillmore "has a mental or emotional disturbance ..." making him a "danger to the health or safety of others," court documents show. The board decided to release him, stating that Gillmore "can be adequately controlled with supervision and mental health treatment which are available in the community."

The lawsuits against the parole board will be heard in Marion County Circuit Court, where the parole board is located.

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