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A man accused of entering a Southeast Portland home in the middle of the night and getting into the bed of a woman sleeping in the basement has been indicted on 14 charges, including attempted rape and first-degree sexual abuse.
Joseph William Green Jr., 30, is charged with four counts of first-degree burglary, two counts of attempted first-degree rape, two counts of fourth-degree assault, and one count each of third-degree theft, first-degree sexual abuse, attempted strangulation, strangulation, attempted first-degree burglary and first-degree criminal trespass.
He entered not guilty pleas to the charges during his arraignment Friday morning in Multnomah County Circuit Court.
The attack occurred just before 1 a.m. on Sept. 12 in the 2900 block of S.E. 17th Ave., according to police and prosecutors.
A 76-year-old woman said she was awakened, thinking a dog had gotten in bed with her. But when she woke up, she saw a strange man had climbed on top of her and was pushing on her chest, telling her to "shush,'' Multnomah County deputy district attorney Todd Jackson wrote in a probable cause affidavit.
The intruder struck her in the face several times, tried to cover her mouth and put both hands around her neck, she said. The woman struggled, fought and screamed. The woman's daughter rushed to the basement and shoved the stranger out of the basement door into the yard.
The attacker left his pants behind in the basement, as well as a key on a cloth lanyard, according to police.
Officers responded to the home and searched the neighborhood for the suspect. A short time later, police spotted two men in a physical struggle on Southeast 15th Avenue, and one of the men was only wearing boxer shorts, the affidavit said.
The man in the boxer shorts matched the description of the suspect from the burglary and attempted sexual assault.
Police learned his name was Green, and that he was found sitting on a porch chair at a home on Southeast 15th Avenue. When a resident of the home returned, and asked him what he was doing there, Green is accused of grabbing the resident and striking him in the head, the affidavit said.
Green admitted to police that he had attempted to sexually assault the woman he encountered at the home on Southeast 17th Avenue after entering through an unlocked back door. The key he left behind was taken from a neighboring, unoccupied home he had entered earlier in the night, according to police.
Green told police and court officials he's been homeless for five years and uses methamphetamine daily.
https://www.oregonlive.com/portland/2018/09/man_accused_of_attempted_rape.html
