Salem, OR. – Official Release: On March 3, 2025, Marion County Circuit Court Judge Jodie Bureta sentenced Emily Echtenkamp to 60 months in the Oregon Department of Corrections without any early release or alternative programming for having sexual intercourse with an adult in custody at the Oregon Youth Authority.
At the time of the incident, Echtenkamp worked as a Qualified Mental Health Professional and Certified Drug and Alcohol Counselor at MacLaren, a closed-custody facility operated by the Oregon Youth Authority (OYA) in Woodburn, Marion County, Oregon. For a significant portion of the victim’s incarceration at MacLaren, Echtenkamp was directly responsible for his substance abuse and mental health treatment.
At the time, the victim was serving a sentence for crimes he committed when he was under 18 years old. In this circumstance, Oregon law allows these individuals to be placed in an OYA facility until they are 25 years old. At the time of these incidents, the victim was 19-20 years old.
In her role, Echtenkamp was allowed unsupervised contact with the victim. She met him in locations on campus she knew weren’t monitored by security cameras or OYA personnel, or she met him in restrooms. During these multiple contacts, she performed acts of sexual contact, including sexual intercourse. Additionally, Echtenkamp provided the victim prohibited video games, cash, and purchased him shoes and clothing for after he was released from custody.
Echtenkamp’s behavior was eventually discovered when another staff member was unable to locate the victim and contacted OYA officials. Security footage showed the victim and Echtenkamp enter a restroom.
When OYA initially questioned Echtenkamp about the incident, she stated that the victim forced his way into the bathroom and sexually assaulted her. The full investigation showed that this accusation was not true. Instead, the Oregon State Police corroborated the victim’s statements that Echtenkamp consented to sexual contact, including obtaining bank records from Echtenkamp’s bank account proving she gave the victim’s family cash, just how the victim described.
Based on that investigation, a Marion County grand jury returned an indictment charging Echtenkamp with five counts of Custodial Sexual Misconduct in the First Degree, one count of Official Misconduct in the First Degree, and one count of Initiating a False Report. As part of the plea agreement between the State and Defendant, Defendant is pled guilty to three counts of Custodial Sexual Misconduct in the First Degree, one count of Official Misconduct in the First Degree, and one count of Initiating a False Report. The State moved to dismiss the remaining two counts.
The state recommended a sentence of 60 months in the Oregon Department of Corrections with no early release. In making that recommendation, the state relied on the fact that Echtenkamp’s behavior was especially aggravated, being the victim’s mental health counselor, and resulted in harm greater than typical. Furthermore, the state pointed to Echtenkamp’s false accusation of sexual assault as especially callous and concerning.
The victim spoke at sentencing through his lawyer and expressed the significance of that injury.
Judge Bureta sentenced Emily Echtenkamp to sixty months Department of Corrections and 24 months of post-prison. She declined Echtenkamp’s request for early release or alternative incarceration programming. Judge Bureta specifically pointed to the victim’s release date being delayed due, in part, to the false accusations as an aggravating circumstance.
This case was investigated by the Oregon State Police. Detective Tiffany Lynn was the lead investigator. The case was prosecuted by Deputy District Attorney Kylie Kuhns and Chief Deputy District Attorney Brendan Murphy. Sara Williams and Zachary Causey represented the Defendant.
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