Oregon Rape Victim Sues Over Paramedic`s Internet Post

The victim of a sexual assault in Southeast Portland has filed a lawsuit against a local ambulance paramedic who posted details about the crime on his MySpace Internet page.

The victim argues the paramedic invaded her privacy by posting the approximate location where the assault occurred, what she said about her knife-wielding assailant and the suspect's description.

The posting led TV reporters to knock on the woman's door, prompted neighborhood reconnaissance and may have impeded the police investigation into the assault, the lawsuit contends.

The suit, filed in Multnomah County Circuit Court Thursday on behalf of "Jane Doe," names both the paramedic's ambulance company, American Medical Response, and the paramedic, Simon P. Green. Neither company officials nor Green could be reached for comment Friday.

The plaintiff was raped and beaten by a stranger who attacked her at her Southeast Portland apartment Feb. 15. Green was dispatched to the woman's apartment to provide emergency medical care and take her to a local hospital.

On March 4, according to the suit, Green wrote on his MySpace site how the stranger followed the woman into her apartment after she was outside smoking a cigarette, sexually assaulted her, and forced her to shower in front of him.

"Three weeks ago, I took a lady our age to the hospital after being raped at knifepoint, by a caucasion (sic) male of average build. The eerie thing here is that we took a female cop with us to the hospital and the victim could only keep stating on (sic) how green her assailant's eyes were when asked to describe him. This took place at approximately 30th and Stark (sic) at about 1 a.m.," the posting read.

Green also included the victim's description of her attacker. "Black ski mask, two pairs of gloves, very yellow teeth, whispered all commands, smelled of bourbon and cigarettes."

Then he suggested victims should fight off attackers if confronted by a knife or buy a Glock to carry in a purse. "My advice: fight. It's only a knife, and any rapist is a coward who will probably turn tail at any resistance," his posting read.

Portland police were called to investigate the sexual assault but did not release any information about the case because detectives did not want to hamper an ongoing investigation, said Sgt. Brian Schmautz, Portland police spokesman. The investigation remains open. No arrest has been made.

Once police learned that details of the crime had been posted on a MySpace account, Portland Detective Sue Fachini interviewed the paramedic. According to the lawsuit, Green told police he didn't think what he posted was a violation of any confidentiality laws because he didn't use the victim's name.

The detective told Green that the description of the attacker, what he wore and how he spoke were details she didn't want released, fearing it would compromise the investigation, especially if the suspect saw the posting and tried to destroy potential evidence, the suit says.

The detective told Green the victim had an expectation of privacy while she was riding in the ambulance.

The paramedic apologized to the detective, saying he was only trying to "get the word out" so other women would have an opportunity to protect themselves. He added, "Great, I guess I'm going to get fired and sued," the suit says.

The victim, according to the suit filed by Portland attorney Janine Robben, is seeking both economic damages for missing work, obtaining counseling and having to move, as well as non-economic damages for emotional distress, physical illness and loss of sleep. The victim accuses Green and the ambulance company of violating her protected information, citing the federal HIPAA privacy rule.

Police considered charging Green but found he had committed no criminal offense. "There's no crime in what this guy did," Schmautz said, "it's just morally reprehensible."

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