Man Stuck In Snow Calls For Help, Gets Arrested For Sexual Assault

A man from Hillsboro, Oregon, who allegedly lured a 13-year-old girl from Seattle and drove her to Oregon, was arrested Friday after their car got stuck in deep snow.

Christopher Thomas Knox, 37, called Clatsop County Sheriff’s Office for help when his car got stuck and stranded on a state road in the Clatsop State Forest. Initially, he told the officers the girl was his daughter but they soon found out that she was from King County, Washington, and was with Knox without her parents’ knowledge. The girl’s mother, however, knew Knox. Police believe Knox struck up an online relationship with the girl’s mother and that was how he and the girl became acquainted. He picked up the girl, without her parents’ knowledge Friday.

He made his first court appearance Tuesday but did not enter a plea on charges of online sexual corruption of a minor and luring a minor. He was accused of attempted second-degree rape and first-degree custodial interference. He was held on a $250,000 bail at the Clatsop County Jail and will have another hearing next week. He was provided with a court-appointed attorney, Kristopher Kaino, who was unavailable to make any statements, the New York Post said.

Tom Bergin, the Sheriff of Clatsop County, said he and his team believe Knox abused the girl sexually near her house on Friday before driving with her to Oregon, and abused her once again at either a rest stop or a state park somewhere between Washington and Oregon on the same evening.

Knox and the girl were traveling in a black 2018 Dodge Journey that had California license plates.

The girl was taken to a local hospital for an exam and was later sent back to her parents in Washington. Authorities in Oregon and Washington both believe more charges against Knox could be filed as the investigation progresses.

However, this isn’t the first time Knox was put behind bars. He was arrested earlier and put in the Washington County Jail for carrying a concealed firearm and recklessly endangering a woman in a forest grove. He was released recently and was scheduled to appear in court for that charge Wednesday. As a part of the release agreement, he wasn’t supposed to leave the state of Washington. He will be charged with violation of release agreement among the other charges against him.