PORTLAND, Ore. — A Central Oregon judge has ordered that an alleged rape victim’s Google searches must be turned over to the man accused of attacking her.
County Circuit Judge A. Michael Adler issued the order at the request of defense attorney Stephen Houze, who contends the woman Googled the definition of rape because she was unsure of what transpired on the night she says she was attacked at a Bend condominium.
The woman and the Deschutes County district attorney appealed the decision, but the Oregon Supreme Court said this week it does not have the authority to rule because the appeal came too late.
District Attorney Patrick Flaherty told The Oregonian that he can’t legally abide by the judge’s order. His office will continue to argue the issue at a hearing late this month.
Adler’s decision is the first of its kind in Oregon and is rare nationwide, said Meg Garvin, director of the National Crime Victim Law Institute, who worries that such rulings could discourage rape victims from pressing charges.
“It’s subjecting them to re-victimization by the system,” said Garvin, whose institute is based at Lewis &Clark Law School. “It’s the exact opposite of what we should be doing.”
The case involves a 23-year-old woman who met Thomas Harry Bray through an online dating site in February 2011. Bray, then 37, was an anatomy instructor at Central Oregon Community College and a board-licensed anesthesiologist.
On their first date, they met for a drink, then headed to Bray’s condo, where the woman says Bray raped her over the course of hours. She reported the incident to police and went to the hospital for medical treatment and a rape exam. Bray was arrested two days later and eventually charged with rape, strangulation and assault.
The Oregonian generally doesn’t name alleged victims in sex crime cases.
Bray, who faces a minimum of eight years in prison if convicted, intends to defend himself by saying the sex was consensual, according to the Oregon Supreme Court synopsis of the case. Bray’s trial is scheduled for July.
Houze, a prominent Portland defense attorney, sought the hard drive on the woman’s personal computer, but a judge denied that. He then tried to use a subpoena to acquire information from Google.
The Internet search giant refused to comply, saying the federal Electronic Communications Privacy Act prevented it from handing over the records unless the woman gave permission or under order from a court.
The judge then ordered the prosecutor to get the woman’s Internet search records.
The district attorney told The Oregonian he would need a search warrant to do so, and he can do that only if he believes it would further his office’s criminal investigation into the case, which he doesn’t.
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