Tattoos Lead to Rape Charges in Oregon

(SACRAMENTO, CA) - 18-year old Stephen Matt Lister screwed up, there is no question about it. Police say he has been giving tattoos to underage girls and that he had sex with at least two high school girls in the process.

Reading the latest press release about this 'big time' arrest in Oregon makes me, quite frankly, roll my eyes. Oregon, the state where the lives of young junior high aged boys are turned upside down for having slapped a female student on the buttocks, making them 'sex offenders'. In fact that case happened in Yamhill County, where this new tattoo crime case is based.

Because he is 18 and the girls are not, Lister is charged with multiple counts of Rape which is a stupid misuse of terminology as the girls were in all likelihood not raped; they participated in sex willingly, but because of their age being under 18, they were 'raped' according to police.

With Oregon's use of the term 'rape', the deletion of the word 'statutory' makes it sound like every case involving an underage person involved forcible rape.

This is one of the Oregon prosecutor's favorite little tricks; in fact you could fairly say it is a district attorney's dream, because they get to say 'rape rape rape' at court proceedings when the victims were not forced to have sex.

This young man who was 17 just a year earlier, is also charged with 'Sodomy' which is a word that absolutely says 'anal sex' but not in Oregon. In this state, any sex act other than standard intercourse is called 'Sodomy' and don't the prosecutors love that also? A blow job is sodomy. What a bunch of backward prudes.

Detectives from the Newberg-Dundee Police Department say they arrested Stephen Lister after two 15-year old females reportedly came forward and confirmed he had sex with them.

Stephen Matt Lister, 18, residing in Newberg was arrested and lodged in the Yamhill County Jail on the following charges:

The world is in such terrible shape. The U.S. government endorses and directly supports governments that sanction and allow the abuse of human beings on a daily basis. This is a land of hypocrisy and while Mr. Lister made a number of mistakes, they are likely not as severe as the laws that will be used to judge and punish him.

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John Doe August 23, 2019 10:31 pm (Pacific time)

https://www.kptv.com/news/deputies-aloha-hit-and-run-suspect-arrested-for-crash-that/article_8c7287ca-c611-11e9-8a76-af8b453d6c7b.html So much for your opinion. This guy is now on the hook for attempted murder. Get woke, Tim.

thsi needs to stop February 8, 2014 7:43 pm (Pacific time)

An 18-year-old high school senior from Vero Beach, Fla., is facing criminal prosecution because she had sexual relations with her girlfriend, a high school freshman. Kaitlyn Hunt was arrested in her home in February, and now faces two felony counts of “lewd and lascivious battery on a child 12-16 years of age.”

By May 24, the Hunt family must decide whether to accept a plea bargain offered by the state that would leave a criminal conviction of felony child abuse on Hunt’s record, and require two years of house arrest, plus another year of probation, or take their chances at trial with a judge and a jury in the small, conservative coastal community. A trial date is tentatively set for June 20.

“My daughter Kaitlyn is a wonderful 18-year-old who is not guilty of anything other than a high school romance,” her father, Steven Hunt, Jr., said in a Change.org petition.

The family kept their situation private until May 17, when they started a “Free Kate” page on Facebook, and a friend launched the petition. In two short days support for Kaitlyn has exploded, with offers to help pouring in from across the country.

Kaitlyn and the younger girl met as teammates on the varsity basketball team at their high school. Kaitlyn’s father reports that Jason Collins’s agent has even called, offering support from the NBA player who recently came out of the closet. Hunt also received a call from a manager at Change.org, who reported that their servers were challenged keeping up with the rapid addition of names to their petition. The petition currently boasts more than 65,000 signatures.

Kaitlyn was a star student, head cheerleader and on the honor roll. She had been voted “most school spirit.” Until her arrest in February, she had never had so much as a high school detention. Sheriff’s deputies knocked on the door of her family home on a Sunday, demanding to speak to her and refusing to tell her mother what they were there for. They cuffed the barely 5-foot-tall Kaitlyn and led her away without explanation.

She remained in jail for the next 22 hours, until a court appearance the following Monday morning. Her mother broke down in the courtroom when she saw her daughter brought in wearing an orange prison jumpsuit reserved for felons, with chains shackled together at her wrists and ankles. Kaitlyn was released on $5,000 bail.

Because both girls played on the high school basketball team and did not hide their affection for each other, their coach became aware of the relationship. According to Steven Hunt, “The coach came up to Kaitlyn during a practice and said,. ‘I heard that you and so and so are in a relationship and I will not have that on my team; therefore, you have to quit.’” He said he kicked Kaitlyn off the team because he wanted to avoid “drama.”

Then, Hunt says, the coach went to the other girl’s parents, James and Laurie Smith. They told their daughter to stop seeing Kaitlyn, but she refused. So her parents waited until after Kaitlyn was 18 years old, so she could be prosecuted as an adult, and they reported her to the police.

The Hunt family immediately contacted the Smiths to try to resolve the situation. “We’ve tried every avenue to communicate with them,” says Steven Hunt. “We’ve mailed letters, had phone conversations, asked for mediation. They have refused all and any communication.”

Hunt says eight faculty members from the high school are on their witness list to testify on behalf of Kaitlyn at her trial. Two of them are prepared to state that they witnessed Laurie Smith say that “there’s no way her daughter will be gay and she’ll do whatever she can to prevent that.” At Kaitlyn’s bail hearing, Laurie Smith spoke in court for 15 minutes, accusing Kaitlyn of turning her daughter gay.

James Smith answered a call to the Smith residence for this story. When asked why his family was pursuing criminal prosecution against Kaitlyn, he said, “No comment” and hung up the phone.

While Kaitlyn’s family is not denying that she violated Florida’s age of consent laws, they point out that the entire relationship was consensual. “It is unfair to expect high school students in the same school not to fraternize,” wrote her uncle, Andrew Kenneth Gay, in a lengthy Facebook post. “It certainly shouldn't be grounds for criminal prosecution.”

He continued: "We do not want to argue that the age difference here is insignificant. The two girls were about 3 years and 7 months apart in age, and Kaitlyn turned 18 in August of last year. Kate, however, is a very small, young-looking senior in high school, and her girlfriend was [a] much taller freshman, older in appearance, an IB student enrolled in courses with upperclassmen, and played on the same varsity basketball team as Kate. They were peers in the same social circle with the same friends. I'm not sure age ever entered into either of their minds.”

Hunt’s parents met at a Christian college in central Florida. Kaitlyn is the oldest of the couple’s four daughters, and although they divorced several years ago, they remain good friends and a close-knit family. Kaitlyn came out to her family 18 months ago. Despite their religious beliefs, Steven Hunt says, “There was no way I was going to lose my relationship with my daughter.”

Meanwhile, Kaitlyn waits. If convicted, Kaitlyn faces a lifetime branded as a sex offender. If she accepts the plea deal, she’ll have a criminal conviction for child abuse on her record, which would severely limit her career options, and should she find herself unable to bear children, would preclude her from adopting.

She’s been expelled from her high school. She’s forbidden by court order from seeing her girlfriend. Her father says that on Saturday morning she told him “she was scared.” He says, “She’s barely five feet tall, she’s absolutely beautiful, and her spirit is so happy and charismatic. Now to see her, it’s heartbreaking."

Anonymous February 6, 2014 2:11 pm (Pacific time)

Who is responsible for the deaths of these inmates we as Oregonians have given a death sentence to. Some of them are so young when going in.

Anonymous January 21, 2014 6:28 am (Pacific time)

On juvenile justice
Regarding the story "Graphic booklet stuns schoolchildren, parents" (May 17): While it is unfortunate that the Portland Police Bureau did not target its intended audience for the booklet more carefully, we are missing a much bigger picture.

I am a juvenile probation officer who over the past 15 years has seen firsthand the impact of Measure 11 on the youth of our state. I remember when this law was voted on; it promised to take violent criminals off the streets. Would it surprise you to know that in my experience the majority of youths who commit a Measure 11 charge are first-time offenders who have no prior juvenile convictions?

Juvenile judges have no options when sentencing a young person on a Measure 11 charge, regardless of lack of criminal history, honor-student status or strong family support. I have seen this happen more times than you can imagine.

The juvenile justice system was created more than 100 years ago to ensure that children were addressed by the courts in a manner that was different from adults. Oregon, what have we done?

DEBRA K. MEAD
Southeast Portland

Adam January 21, 2014 6:26 am (Pacific time)

People are finally getting wise to the cost of Mannix's mandatory minimums. Oregon is in a severe budget crisis that foresees no end. Where should Oregon put its money--schools or prisons? Hopefully, this is a no-brainer...

Anonymous January 21, 2014 6:24 am (Pacific time)

Oregon's prison population consistently hovers around 14,000, keeping the capacity always at max, no matter that crime rates are falling. Gotta keep the beds full to keep collecting the tax revenue needed to keep the facilities open, and to keep the prison industry lucrative for all the greedy pockets. So when crime drops, new laws make the prison net wider and sentences longer.

Sara January 21, 2014 6:17 am (Pacific time)

"Measure 11's mandatory scheme destroyed the most critical aspect of an effective criminal justice system: the ability to consider the individual circumstances of every case when determining sentences," said David Rogers, executive director of the nonprofit Partnership for Safety and Justice.

Anonymous January 20, 2014 11:52 pm (Pacific time)

I know a very good friend of mine was made to look like a monster and a "pedi ' is what people called him on facebook, He was a teen in a consented relationship with a teen who was younger. Both boys Gay and both in the closet. The Newberg Graphic posted he raped and sodomized the younger teen. When in fact the younger teen was the aggressive partner in the relationship ( it was a complete consented in the closet relationship. ) My friend had NEVER BEEN IN ANY KIND OF TROUBLE ever and was going to school and working. At NHS I had 13 and 19 year old people in classes together. I cant believe what the DA did to one of my closest friends and I also cant believe that others who said they were his friend never bothered to look beyond what the graphic said. I know for a fact Varsity football players and younger cheerleaders are together dating and some are quite a bit younger but for Gays I guess it still isnt as accepted in out small town community.
I hope people will read your article and start fighting against this.

Anonymous January 13, 2014 2:32 am (Pacific time)

Its all about money. Judge Collins and Ms Kimberly DA make lots of money from this' (as well as so many others.) At what cost to our youth? How many more youth with Mr. Collins make a victom so he can give himself a gold star. All of us get judged one day. As the bible says ( Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees. ) The DAs Prosocutors and Law makers of our time.

Anonymous January 13, 2014 1:12 am (Pacific time)

Why are BOTH middle schools in newberg teaching kids to have safe sex. If an 8 th grade boy has any kind of sexual contact with a girl in yamhill he could get 6 years prison. 15 yearolds are tried as adults in yamhill county so i guess old enough to go to adult prison just not old enough to use the condom or morning after pill they pass out.

michelle from yamhill January 6, 2014 12:24 pm (Pacific time)

This is sad. In yamhill county they put away a young man who was a teenager and admitted to to being gay. He was only with a concented teenager who was younger. The younger teenage was the agressive one but the older teen was sent to prison for five years. He was giving tatoos and had two jobs and was going to school full time and had NEVER been into any trouble before.

Anonymous January 6, 2014 12:18 pm (Pacific time)

Its disgusting. These are are teens and were yes all of us pointing rapist without all the facts.

Sally From Yamhill County October 14, 2012 8:12 pm (Pacific time)

Yamhill County likes to prosecute, prosecute, and prosecute - regardless of the situation. Several years ago they prosecuted a 20yo for "rape" because his girlfriend was under 17 - the 20yo and the girl’s father got into an argument and the dad called and reported that his daughter was having sex with a 20yo - Yamhill County prosecuted (even though the parents knew that there was sexual intercourse happing for months before the dad got upset at the 20yo) - the 20yo is now 23 and married to the then girlfriend and has to register as a sex offender. All because of Yamhill County Prosecutors and a pissed off dad.

Sally From Yamhill Count October 14, 2012 8:10 pm (Pacific time)

Ralph E. Stone October 12, 2012 9:04 pm (Pacific time)

This was statutory rape, engaging in sex with - in this case -- women under the age of consent. In non-statutory cases, rape is often hard to prove. In statutory rape cases all you need to prove is that sex took place and the girl was under the age of consent. The law assumes a person under a certain age needs special protection. It also protects them from people with more power. Lister, for example, was running an illegal tattoo business.and taking advantage of these underage girls. Look at the situation from the girls' point of view.

Tim King: I agree with you Ralph, only Oregon deleted 'statutory' from the legal lingo and determines therefore that no person under 18 has the ability to legally consent and therefore it is rape no matter what, the degree depends only on age. I just prefer California's use of the word statutory. My beef with this issue goes back many years to the case in Salem of a teacher named Joe Billera, who had been engaging in sex with his middle school female students for years, while being named 'Teacher of the Year'. When it all came down, he was charged with numerous counts and all of the girls were willing participants in the acts, except one. The youngest of his victims was actually raped, a little girl... he forcibly raped her against her will! This all was lost in the trial I felt, because after the jury hears rape over and over and have former willing victims testify who were not forced, the magnitude of the act against the youngest girl is lost. Thanks so much for your comment Ralph.

October 12, 2012 2:17 pm (Pacific time)

So Tim, why not just dissolve the Oregon government and take over as Philosopher King?

Tim King: I just think the use of these words are disrespectful to people who have been raped. I think it gives heavy verbal weight to charges faced by people innocent until proven guilty. The law needs to not crucify people who make stupid and regrettable mistakes.

Daniel Johnson October 12, 2012 3:28 pm (Pacific time)

Perhaps someone can explain to me the difference between "rape" here in Canada and the situation in Oregon. Here there is allowance for close age differences, i.e., an 18 year old male, who is classed as an adult, is not liable for sexual charges if the girl is, say, 16 or17. There is an allowance of something like three or four years between teenage partners. Of course, mutual consent is a given.

Anonymous October 12, 2012 3:00 pm (Pacific time)

Tim..I am with ya 100% but what I cant figure is why sex is rampid in high skools, oral sex in bathrooms, I could go on and on, why is this guy getting beat up so bad? I am gonna make a guess...The girls, who chat on phone and internet, talked about it and a parent overheard/found out. The parent went bolistic, (cause their daughter was an innocent angel lol), and thats when police take more notice..I think its when parents make a big stink..I am not promoting anything here, or even giving judgement of any kind, just stating what I think is a fact. I promote sustaining, but my promotion hasnt gone far especially these days. But you are correct Tim, this is an atrocity and hypocricy...Too bad this guy wasnt a priest, they would have simply moved him to another town and bought him a tatoo shop to boot. Last stats I heard are that there is more rape in the CPS than anywhere.

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