OREGON
KOIN
By Brent Weisberg
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN 6) — A 39-year-old man is accused of sexually abusing a young boy who was supposed to be the family’s babysitter, police said.
Joseph William Wehage pleaded not guilty Thursday morning to a secret grand jury indictment charging him with seven counts of first-degree sexual abuse, two counts of attempted second-degree sodomy, and one count each of second-degree sodomy and attempted first-degree sodomy.
Detective Jason Christensen, who is assigned to the Portland Police Bureau’s Sex Crimes Unit, opened the investigation in August 2014 after police learned about the case through a mandatory reporter.
Wehage sexually abused the boy from 2012-2013 at an apartment in the 5000 block of Southeast Beaverton Hillsdale Highway in SW Portland, police said. Wehage, the victim and the victim’s family all met through a local church. Police declined to release the church’s name because Wehage was not part of the clergy or its administration.
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