Details emerge in Saturday morning attack
Victim, an OSU junior, speaks out about preventing violence and raising awareness
Dan Traylor
Issue date: 10/10/06 Section: News
Oregon State junior Jessica Taylor was walking to work on Saturday morning when a man walking toward her asked her for the time. As she looked down at her watch, the man made a sudden movement.
The man advanced on Taylor with something in his hands she thought was tape. She managed to knock it out of his hands.
"But he just tossed me to the ground," said Taylor, a 20-year-old from the Portland area. "We fought for probably 30 seconds or so. I kicked really hard ... I half-way got up and almost managed to run, but he grabbed my leg and took my shoe off."
Taylor said they fought again for 45 seconds as the man tried to gag and restrain her. She managed to scream for help.
"I was fighting with all of my strength," she said.
A passing bicyclist heard the screams and ran toward the scene yelling, Taylor said.
The man heard the bicyclist and began to flee. The bicyclist - the only witness to the incident - checked to make sure Taylor was OK before chasing after the man.
"I was alone at that point ... I was screaming for help and calling 911," Taylor said. Members of the Kappa Alpha Theta sorority, which is near the scene of the incident on Northwest 23rd Street, heard the screaming and came out to help.
Taylor looked back at the scene of the struggle and saw her shoe and her other belongings. Just then the man came out from hiding in the bushes, apparently after circling the block. Taylor and the sorority members went into the house and locked the door.
By this time, police were arriving in the area. The man got into his car - which had been parked near the scene of the struggle - and fled. Police chased him until the suspect crashed his car into another vehicle. He was arrested on the scene.
The suspect, identified as Brian Kenneth Downer, is a registered predatory sex offender in Benton County. He currently resides at 2777 S.W. Wake Robin Place in Corvallis. He is on lifetime probation in Arizona for two counts of attempted sexual assault in an incident police described as similar to the recent one.
The man advanced on Taylor with something in his hands she thought was tape. She managed to knock it out of his hands.
"But he just tossed me to the ground," said Taylor, a 20-year-old from the Portland area. "We fought for probably 30 seconds or so. I kicked really hard ... I half-way got up and almost managed to run, but he grabbed my leg and took my shoe off."
Taylor said they fought again for 45 seconds as the man tried to gag and restrain her. She managed to scream for help.
"I was fighting with all of my strength," she said.
A passing bicyclist heard the screams and ran toward the scene yelling, Taylor said.
The man heard the bicyclist and began to flee. The bicyclist - the only witness to the incident - checked to make sure Taylor was OK before chasing after the man.
"I was alone at that point ... I was screaming for help and calling 911," Taylor said. Members of the Kappa Alpha Theta sorority, which is near the scene of the incident on Northwest 23rd Street, heard the screaming and came out to help.
Taylor looked back at the scene of the struggle and saw her shoe and her other belongings. Just then the man came out from hiding in the bushes, apparently after circling the block. Taylor and the sorority members went into the house and locked the door.
By this time, police were arriving in the area. The man got into his car - which had been parked near the scene of the struggle - and fled. Police chased him until the suspect crashed his car into another vehicle. He was arrested on the scene.
The suspect, identified as Brian Kenneth Downer, is a registered predatory sex offender in Benton County. He currently resides at 2777 S.W. Wake Robin Place in Corvallis. He is on lifetime probation in Arizona for two counts of attempted sexual assault in an incident police described as similar to the recent one.
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Viewing Comments 1 - 2 of 2
John Zentner
posted 10/10/06 @ 10:35 AM PST
The victim is my great granddaughter. She is a very small person, but like any genuine OSU Beaver, she gave the Attacker more than the (sob) could handle. (Continued…)
Sarah Friedel
posted 10/11/06 @ 4:54 PM PST
That's my dad, above. He is 92, a Beaver to the core. I am so proud of our granddaughter and extremely grateful to the bicyclist who happened by, and to the police who did their job well. (Continued…)
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