Man gets 33 years for brutal attack on boy at a Wendy's

By Anna Canzano KATU News and KATU.com Staff Published: Oct 10, 2012 at 11:49 AM PDT Last Updated: Oct 10, 2012 at 5:31 PM PDT

PORTLAND, Ore. - The man accused of a brutal stabbing attack and sexual assault on a young boy in a Northeast Portland Wendy's restaurant in July has pleaded guilty to all counts and received a 33-year prison sentence in a plea deal.

Adam Lee Brown, 50, of Portland, faced numerous charges including attempted murder, kidnapping and assault following a harrowing and bloody attack July 1 on a 10-year-old boy inside the Wendy's location on NE Sandy Boulevard.

After Brown grabbed the boy inside the Wendy’s restaurant, the boy fought back, and Brown then pulled him into a bathroom, tried to sexually assault him and stabbed him.

The boy's father tried to open the door but had to get the manager to unlock it. At that point, Brown opened the door, shoved the injured boy outside and then locked himself inside the restroom. Several people who were in the restaurant held the door shut until police arrived.

The boy was cut several times and was taken to the hospital where he underwent surgery.

Brown barricaded himself in the bathroom for several hours and said he had a gun. Eventually, he surrendered to SERT members who had evacuated the restaurant and closed roads around the business. A gun was never found.

The boy's parents had the prosecutor read a statement to Brown in court on Wednesday, saying "you are a sick evil twisted human being. The horror our son feels will always be in the depths of his mind, but broken is something he'll never be." Read their full statement

Given a chance to say something to his victim, Brown said only this: "I listened to the statement. It was a heartfelt statement, and that's as far as I'll go."

Prosecutors said the boy and his parents didn't come to court because they didn't want to see Brown's face.

The judge, Julie Frantz, who issued Brown's sentence, also had harsh words for him.

"The crimes that you've committed are horrific and absolutely unspeakable," she said.

Brown appeared in court with a full beard, which was in stark contrast to the clean-shaven look he had in the past.

Prosecutor Don Rees said cutting this deal with Brown kept the boy and his family from having to relive the horror of the attack in a trial.

"They're very knowing (that) Adam Brown will very likely die in prison," he said.

Brown will be 83 years old before he'll be free – if he lives that long.

Brown was declared a "predatory" sex offender after he was convicted for sodomy in December of 1993.

According to news reports from KATU and others in 1993, Brown had unprotected sex with children and tried to infect them with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.

Prosecutors said he victimized nine kids, five of whom were exposed to HIV. He targeted both male and female children between two and eight years old.

Brown sexually assaulted children who were in the care of acquaintances, and gave those children drugs and alcohol, according to the sex offender registry.

He was not allowed to have contact with minors after his release or frequent places where minors regularly congregate.

He was paroled in 2004. His original sentence was 16 years, which means he would have gotten out of jail in 2009 whether his parole was denied or allowed.

At the time of the attack, Brown also had an outstanding warrant for a parole violation.

The parole board's executive director said Brown was caught between two laws. In 1989, the law changed so the board could no longer keep prisoners locked up who had served their time and received time off for good behavior.

And in 1995, Oregon passed minimum sentencing guidelines with Measure 11.

The tougher sentences didn't affect Brown because he was arrested in 1992 and the parole board had to release him.

Why wasn’t Brown wearing an electronic monitoring device?

Multnomah County investigated why Brown wasn't wearing an electronic monitoring device at the time of the attack and who was watching him and how often.

A spokesman for Multnomah County Community Corrections said Wednesday the investigative report will not be released because it is protected by attorney-client privilege.

Brown was monitored with an ankle bracelet when he was released from the Oregon State prison on parole in Douglas County in 2004.

Brown was in and out of trouble in Roseburg after violating his parole with drug use and by having contact with children.

He came to Multnomah County in December 2010 where Brown again continually violated parole.

In February this year, following another violation, Brown's parole officer recommended Brown be sent to jail for four months and placed on electronic monitoring when he was released.

But Multnomah County did not use the trackable GPS devices even after the repeated violations.

The last time Brown was sanctioned was in April and he spent 90 days in jail. Two weeks after his release, Brown attacked that 10-year-old boy at Wendy's.

Community Corrections spokesman Hank Stern said knowing Brown's history he probably would have just cut the GPS device off or tampered with it anyway.

KATU News reporter Thom Jensen contributed to this report.

Transcript of remarks from victim's family as they were read in court:

I speak for all parents when I say: You do not deserve to be alive. The fact that you are going to prison for a very long time, will and will not EVER justify the actions you've taken. The real justice comes when you are judged by God to burn in Hell. I hope when that time comes, you remember our son and all of the past victims you've wounded mentally and physically.

And know this, their wounds are healing, yours will not. You have brought pain and sadness to my family. The horror that our son had to go through will always be in the depths of his mind. But broken is something he will never be. His resilience and strength to fight against the ignorance of men, I mean, monsters like you, reassures him that this is only temporary.

To know that you're a parent yourself is extremely disturbing. How do you bring children into this world and turn around and assault them?! You are a sick, evil, twisted human being and you deserve the punishment coming to you.