A 30-year-old Oregon man who allegedly tattooed his name near the vagina of a teenaged girl faces charges, including third-degree rape.
An affidavit filed in Oregon's Benton County Court states that the victim, who has not been publicly identified, told police that Matthew Abram Rader gave her three tattoos for her 15th birthday, including one of his name "near her vagina."
Police interpreted this to mean that Rader had engaged in a sexual relationship with the victim when she was 14 years old. In Oregon, sexual intercourse with a person under age 16 is considered third-degree rape.
(Read the full story at KVAL.com)
The victim told police that she had never revealed her true age to Rader. However, Oregon law states the fact that a "defendant did not know the child's age or... reasonably believed the child to be older than the age of 16" is not a viable defense for rape.
Beginning December 2012, police investigated Rader with the victim's cooperation, reviewing dozens of pages of sexually explicit messages between her and Rader, according to KVAL. During a Facebook exchange with an officer posing as the victim, Rader allegedly asked for nude photographs of the girl.
Corvallis, Ore., police arrested Rader Jan. 2. He is being held in Benton County Jail on $200,000 bail and faces charges of third-degree rape, second-degree online sexual corruption of a child and a count of using a child in display of sexually explicit conduct.
The Huffington Post contacted the Benton County Sheriff's Office for comment. The officer on duty would only confirm booking information, and said that a trial date had yet to be set.
ConversionConversion EmoticonEmoticon