Portland, OR. — A Multnomah County jury has found two men guilty of Rape in the First Degree and Sodomy in the First Degree for a violent attack committed in the Portland area in 2000, marking the second conviction in the case.
The defendants, Michael Lavon Rhone and Mathew Charles Monhead, were originally convicted in 2001 by a split jury verdict of 10–2, a practice that was permitted under Oregon law at the time. Both men served 200-month prison sentences following that conviction.
In 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Ramos v. Louisiana that non-unanimous jury verdicts in felony cases violate the Sixth Amendment. That decision was later applied in Oregon through the state Supreme Court’s 2022 ruling in Watkins v. Ackley, which entitled individuals convicted by non-unanimous juries to new trials upon request. Rhone and Monhead sought retrials under that ruling.
The retrial was prosecuted by Deputy District Attorney Quinn Zemel on behalf of the Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office. Following the verdict, Zemel said, “I am proud of the work of law enforcement that made this re-trial possible. This verdict will allow the defendants to continue to be held accountable and provides a continued sense of justice for the victim.”
The District Attorney’s Office also credited Jason Sery, now a sergeant with the Beaverton Police Department, who was serving as a Portland police officer at the time of the crime. Authorities said Sery observed the attack in progress, intervened, and arrested both defendants. He later returned to court to testify during the retrial, stating afterward, “I’m incredibly grateful for all the hard work and investigation that went into this retrial.”
According to court records, on August 9, 2000, a woman walking home was attacked in an alley by the two defendants, who were both 17 years old at the time and strangers to the victim. Prosecutors said the men restrained, raped, and sodomized her.
Because both defendants already served their original prison sentences, the new convictions do not result in additional jail time.
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