Trial begins for man accused of sexually assaulting 'entirely incoherent' woman on TriMet platform
Editor’s Note: This story includes details of sexual violence that may be disturbing for some readers.
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – The trial for a 29-year-old man accused of sexually assaulting an unconscious grandmother on a TriMet platform in Washington County began Tuesday morning.
Prosecutors say Eduardo Guillermo Madrid-Roque assaulted the woman in June 2023 while she was visiting the area to attend her grandson's graduation. The woman, 63, had flown into town and taken the MAX line to the Hillsboro Transit Center, where she arrived around 8 p.m.
According to court documents, a poor interaction with her medication left her “entirely incoherent” and led her to sit on the sidewalk to take off her pants and eventually lay down.
“While on the flight, [the woman] had a glass of wine, but due to a recent change in her prescription medication, she had a bad reaction causing her intoxication level to be higher than expected,” the court documents say.
Surveillance footage showed Madrid-Roque getting off a bus at the station, where authorities say he “immediately noticed [the woman] on the ground” and waited for the bus to leave before approaching her.
“For the next 30 minutes, the defendant sexually abused [the woman] at varying intervals in the middle of the transit station,” the court documents say. “The defendant paused his abuse…on three separate occasions when other individuals neared the vicinity.”
Video taken at the transit center then shows Madrid-Roque pick up his belongings and walk away before getting on a bus to leave the station, according to prosecutors.
Transit police eventually found the woman still “laying on the sidewalk of the station, unaware of her surroundings and disoriented” around 10:40 p.m. She was immediately taken to the hospital, and “had no recollection of the sexual assault” the next morning, authorities said.
Authorities said investigators found DNA evidence from the scene that confirmed Madrid-Roque’s identity. He currently faces six counts of sexual abuse, three counts of unlawful sexual penetration and two counts of public indecency in Washington County.
Stay with KOIN 6 News as this story develops.