A La Center man is accused of kidnapping and sexual assault after law enforcement drove by and later arrested him when his victim kicked the horn in his car as he forced himself on her, according to court records.
Douglas L. Braaten, 61, is accused in Multnomah County Circuit Court of two counts of first-degree kidnapping, first-degree sexual abuse and first-degree unlawful sexual penetration following his arrest Tuesday night. He also was arrested on suspicion of patronizing a prostitute.
According to court records, the victim was eating at a Portland 7-Eleven on Tuesday evening when Braaten, who was in his car, honked his horn at her.
Once he got her attention, he offered her a ride, and she eventually accepted. Court records say she asked Braaten to drop her off elsewhere in Portland, but he passed it and kept going.
When she alerted him that they missed the turn, Braaten said he’d loop around, but again passed the location.
As they were heading east on Interstate 84, the woman sent a text message to 911, according to court records. She was able to let a dispatcher know she was being kidnapped and provide their direction.
Braaten pulled his car into a gravel parking lot after the Bridal Veil exit, at which point he started making threatening statements, the woman told investigators.
He then began to assault her, she said, but at that point she saw police lights going by. She managed to kick the car’s horn and got the attention of passing deputies.
According to court documents, the deputies opened the car door to find the victim crying, with her pants down and mascara streaked across her face.
The deputies arrested Braaten and took the victim to a hospital.
Braaten is a registered sex offender, according to Washington court records, and he was being held on $1 million bail at the Multnomah County Jail.
