Portland, OR: A second judge in Multnomah County, who had previously been skeptical of a plea deal, went above and above what the prosecutors had hoped for, sentencing a former juvenile hall specialist to a lengthy prison term for grooming a child while she was in custody.
Most people would be “shocked” to hear that Nathan Kirkpatrick was charged with misdemeanor official misconduct for allegedly plotting to marry the girl abroad and making hints about slipping her narcotics, according to Circuit Judge Christopher Marshall.
Last month, Marshall upheld a decision made in October by Circuit Judge Amy Baggio, who rejected a plea agreement that had proposed a 90-day prison term for Kirkpatrick.
Defense counsel Greg Oliveros did not respond to Deputy District counsel Brian Davidson’s suggestion that Kirkpatrick serve 180 days in prison.
It was obvious that Oliveros’ client’s behavior was predatory, he stated. “In my opinion, there are insufficient ‘I’m sorrys’ to have any significant impact.”
After much deliberation, Marshall handed down a 270-day prison term, five years of supervision, and a prohibition on working with children by age 18.
“Our goal is to reduce the likelihood that you pose a threat to either yourself or your community,” the judge stated. “It ought to be sufficient time for contemplation during custody.”
In 2019, while the girl was facing a five-year sentence and had just turned sixteen, Kirkpatrick, who is now 33 years old, met her while working as a custody services consultant at the county’s Donald E. Long Juvenile Detention Home in Portland.
After the child was moved to a facility in Albany that October and Kirkpatrick attempted to deposit funds into her commissary account, investigators began to suspect foul play. Kirkpatrick professed his love for her and discussed supplying her narcotics in over a hundred letters and calls that a sheriff’s detective unearthed.
According to Davidson, the prosecutor, the drugs had already been “long gone” when the investigation started, and there was no proof of the couple having sexual relations.
Kirkpatrick committed to showing the victim’s family that he could change for the better via deeds rather than words in an emotional apology.