Oregon
Oregon lawmaker, advocates comment on foster care after FOX 12 investigation
PORTLAND, Ore. (KPTV) – FOX 12 Investigates has obtained data showing that state investigators rule abuse and neglect allegations from foster children as “unfounded” in nearly all cases.
Through a public records request, the FOX 12 Investigates team learned that from 2019-2023, there were 2,415 Oregon Department of Human Services (ODHS) investigations into alleged abuse and neglect by foster parents towards their foster children. Of all those investigations, over 88% of those allegations were determined to be unfounded, and just about 12% founded.
In emotional stories from former foster youth who FOX 12 spoke with, all say this trend does not surprise them.
Oregon state senator, Sara Gelser Blouin (D-Corvallis), who also chairs the Senate Human Services Committee, has worked on child welfare legislation for years, specifically trying to improve the quality of foster care in Oregon. FOX 12 Investigates presented our findings to the senator showing that even after a thorough audit of ODHS and the foster care system in 2018, abuse and neglect allegations by children in foster care went unfounded nearly all the time.
“There has been tremendous resistance from the agency and providers to look at, whether it’s abuse data or licensing data, through a lens of curiosity, to find out how do we make these services better,” said Gelser Blouin.
The senator has helped pass legislation in the past designed to improve how ODHS to conduct abuse and neglect investigations within the foster care system. Gelser Blouin says despite changes she pushed for, there are still gray areas in these investigations.
“Just because something is unfounded doesn’t mean that the child was not accurate in what they reported,” she said. “It could be that there was conflicting information and therefore they couldn’t come to a substantiated finding.”
Gelser Blouin says abuse and neglect investigations specifically look for evidence needed to prove an allegedly abusive foster parent broke the law.
“The question isn’t was the child mis-treated? Was the child harmed? Is the child uncomfortable? The question is: did this person that’s alleged to have committed the abuse do something that is a violation of what is explicitly written in the statute?”
In response to FOX 12′s reporting on the ODHS data on abuse and neglect investigations in foster care, an ODHS spokesperson sent the following statement:
“The data provided to KPTV is not troubling – instead, it shows that the vast majority of resource (foster) parents in Oregon provide safe and supportive homes to children experiencing foster care. In Oregon, cases of abuse by foster parents are rare…
We feel empathy and compassion for the traumas experienced by children in foster care, and ODHS is committed to listening and responding to the concerns they have…
Oregon has made significant progress since the 2018 Secretary of State audit…. including in child safety, resource (foster) parent recruitment and support, and using data to improve outcomes for children.”
The FOX 12 Investigates team also shared our findings with Hannah Royal, another former foster youth. In the past, Royal has testified on behalf of the organization, Oregon Foster Youth Connection, in front of Oregon state lawmakers in Salem with the hopes of improving the quality of foster care. She says foster children’s complaints leading to unfounded investigations is nothing new.
“I think that there’s a stigma against foster youth for being like just untruthful people in general,” said Royal. “And so the fact that so many of them went unfounded doesn’t really surprise me.”
Royal feels a critical solution is improving the staffing of DHS case workers, who are supposed to be assigned to each foster child and check in with them regularly. Royal also feels more guidance is needed for foster children on recognizing what abuse looks like.
“I think the biggest trend is, a lot of them don’t even feel comfortable reporting that sort of abuse or like, they’re not even sure what is the line between the normal treatment of (a) parent to child, and where’s the line of that actual abuse and neglect.”
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KEIZER, Ore. — Marion County officials are alerting the public about a registered sex offender living in Keizer, saying the notification is intended to support public awareness and safety.
The Marion County Sheriff’s Office said it is releasing the information pursuant to ORS 163A.215, which authorizes Community Corrections to inform the public when the release of such information will enhance public safety and protection.
The sheriff’s office said Julian Ivan Herrera has been convicted of a sex offense requiring registration with the Oregon State Police and, based on his criminal history, has been classified at a level indicating a potential to re-offend.
Herrera’s listed residence is 699 Lost Ln N in Keizer. He is described as a 41-year-old Black man who is 5-foot-4 and weighs 125 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes. His SID number is 18104153, and his date of birth is Nov. 1,1984.
According to the sheriff’s office, Herrera is on supervised probation for the crimes of harassment and sex abuse in the third degree. His prior convictions include contributing to the sexual delinquency of a minor, attempted assault IV, and public indecency.
The sheriff’s office said Herrera was granted supervision on March 23, 2026, and his supervision is set to expire March 22,2031.
Victims of Herrera include a minor female known to him and an adult male known to him, according to the sheriff’s office.
Special conditions listed by the sheriff’s office include no contact with minors, not frequenting places where minors congregate, and no alcohol or other intoxicating substances.
Oregon
Career criminal creep with 166 arrests, 55 convictions since 1999 sentenced to life in prison
An Oregon creep with a record-setting rap sheet cataloguing a staggering 166 arrests dating back to his teens was finally sentenced to life in prison on Friday.
Joshua Cory Nealy, 41, was slapped with the hefty life sentence without possibility for parole for a January 2023 arrest where he flashed a female clothing store employee and a security officer, according to a news release from the Washington County District Attorney’s Office.
The misdemeanor charge, which would usually land first-time offenders behind bars for just one year, did him in after a whopping 55 prior convictions, including seven felony charges.
Nealy was already on parole when he strolled into the Washington Square Mall in Portland and started schmoozing with a skeptical clothing store clerk.
The repeat offender sifted aimlessly through the store and collected a random assortment of clothes. He asked the female clerk for assistance while he was nude in the store’s changing room — then “opened the door fully and exposed himself to her,” the release said.
Nealy invited the woman to have sex and attempted to cajole her into the dressing room. The victim quickly flagged down a security officer, who Nealy also flashed before fleeing the store with a stolen pair of sunglasses.
Officers with the Tigard Police Department — located one town over from the mall — nabbed the registered sex offender that same day.
Before Washington County Circuit Judge Theodore Sims remanded Nealy to life in prison on Friday, his attorneys tried to argue that the repeat offender had a “compromised mental state.”
The lawyers cited a police report from Nealy’s 2007 attempted rape conviction that described how he “was using ‘crank’,” the street term for meth, “had been awake for two days and expressed his belief that his mother was the Queen of Southern England,” as reported by Oregon Live.
They also noted the defense’s sentencing memo for his first public indecency conviction, where he was apparently talking gibberish during the ordeal.
Then, the lawyers alleged that Nealy was “under the influence” during the incident at the Portland mall.
Despite their efforts, Nealy was handed the life sentence in accordance with a state statute that requires the imposition for defendants who have two prior felony sex crime convictions.
Court records obtained by Oregon Live show that Nealy still has two outstanding cases for assault and attempted assault in Washington County.
Nealy, whose criminal record dates back to when he was just 14 years old, was previously charged with attempted rape, robbery, various assaults, failure to report as a sex offender and more.
Oregon
Oregon’s 1,500-Acre Dog Park Paradise Just Outside Portland Offers Off-Leash Terrain, Trails, And River – Islands
For many dogs, a perfect day involves playing catch in a giant field, sniffing around a dense forest, and topping it all off with a swim. Just outside of Portland, Oregon, which Forbes calls one of the best cities in the U.S. for dogs, lies the Sandy River Delta, where dogs can have their perfect day. The park offers close to 1,500 acres of pure, off-leash dog bliss where the Sandy River meets the mighty Columbia. This land was once a part of the Watlala Nation and was visited by Lewis and Clark, whose team camped on the shores of the Columbia here.
Almost the entirety of the park is off-leash. The park has five trails where dogs can be off-leash, beaches, rivers, and fields that are all open to sniffing, running free, and playing catch. You’re able to hike the trails with your dog roaming along at their own pace. The trails allowing dogs off-leash range from 0.25 to 2 miles long and showcase different ecological zones in the delta. The forests are full of interesting smells for your pup, and the meadows are wide and open — perfect spots to play with other dogs that are also having their best day ever.
The Sandy River Delta is located in Troutdale, Oregon’s “Gateway to the Columbia River Gorge.” Standing in the middle of the park, looking at the views of the gorge, you’d never know that downtown Portland is 17 miles to the west.
There’s so much for you and your dog to do at the Sandy River Delta Park
The areas a dog must remain on-leash are: the parking lot, bathrooms, picnic areas, and within 100 feet of one of the park’s main treks, the Confluence Trail. If you take a route that crosses the Confluence Trail, your dog is allowed to be off-leash, as long as they don’t disturb hikers. A fenced section on the park’s eastern edge is closed to people and pets to give wildlife some peace and quiet. Other than those specified areas, your dog has plenty of acreage to explore. Just make sure your dog doesn’t dig, and please pack out their waste!
Humans have something to look forward to here, as well. The Confluence Trail runs 1.25 miles along ADA-compliant gravel leading to a bird blind designed by architect and sculptor Maya Lin. The elliptical bird blind is made of wooden slats inscribed with the name and current conservation status of the 134 different species Lewis and Clark encountered. Lin is a renowned artist whose work appears at places like Storm King Art Center, one of the largest outdoor sculpture parks in the U.S.
How to get to the Sandy River Delta Park and what’s nearby
One practical note: bring a towel for your pup. The park offers a lot of water for your dog to swim in, and the shore gets pretty muddy. The cool water is a refreshing treat for your dog in the middle of summer. You can hike to the Sandy River and a side channel of the Columbia easily. Don’t worry — the nearby forest provides free sticks to toss into the water for your dog to fetch. To get to the Sandy River Delta from wherever you are in Portland, take I-84 East. The parking lot will get full on the weekends, so get there early or go late. If the parking is full, you can park down the street at a free lot across from the river and enter through a trail.
After all this running around and sniffing, you deserve a treat, too. Portland is one of the top five foodie cities in the U.S., and that love of good food doesn’t stop at the city borders. A mile down the street from the park is the Sugarpine Drive-In, a restored gas station casually serving gourmet food and ice cream sundaes. The New York Times said the Cherries Jubilee Sundae was one of the best dishes in 2024. On the way home, stop at McMenamins’ Edgefield location — a former farm that is now home to a pet-friendly hotel, multiple bars and restaurants, a spa, a brewery, distillery, winery, golf course, and an outdoor concert venue that consistently brings in nationally touring acts.
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