A Tigard man was sentenced to more than six years in prison Wednesday for sexually abusing a woman who has the mental capacity of a young child.
Washington County jurors last month found Philip Jurov, 23, guilty on two counts of first-degree sexual abuse. He had met his victim as an employee of Danville Services of Oregon, a company that works with people with disabilities.
At sentencing, Jurov was brought to court in jail scrubs and chains. He asked Presiding Judge Charles Bailey to spare him from the prison sentence required by Measure 11 of six years and three months.
"I am sorry for my inability to defend myself properly throughout this ordeal," he said.
The judge interjected: "What do you mean by that?"
"My confessions were false," Jurov said. "So I stand by that and stand by my innocence."
On two trips to Bald Peak State Park, Jurov was responsible for the victim and several other Danville clients, according to court records.
Jurov confessed to taking the woman aside on those trips and making her touch him sexually, prosecutor Jeff Lesowski said outside of court. Another woman, who has cerebral palsy, witnessed the abuse and reported it.
Jurov was placed on leave, and Hillsboro police began investigating. In more than one conversation with a detective, he admitted the abuse, Lesowski said.
Jurov's lawyer, Scott Sharp, asked the court to consider the brief, fleeting nature of the incidents.
Judge Bailey, however, took a different view.
Police had not done anything to elicit a false confession, he said. And Jurov was smarter than he let on.
Jurov chose a vulnerable victim who could not testify against him, the judge said. And he committed his crime around others with similar disabilities. It was fortunate, Bailey said, that one of those witnesses was able to testify.
The judge said the Measure 11 sentence fit the crime.
"There are times when, as a judge, making these kinds of decisions can be difficult," Bailey said. "This is not one of those."
-- Emily E. Smith
esmith@oregonian.com
503-294-4032; @emilyesmith