Prosecutor: Al Gore was focus of sex crime inquiry in Portland

Published: Wednesday, June 23, 2010, 3:24 PM     Updated: Wednesday, June 23, 2010, 3:58 PM

Maxine Bernstein, The Oregonian

Police report

» Read the Portland Police Bureau report

Associated PressFormer Vice President Al Gore speaks at the Millennium Summit on Thursday, April 22, 2010 in Montreal.

The Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office confirmed today that a woman who alleged unwanted sexual contact by Al Gore reported it to police in 2006, and the prosecutor’s office was briefed by the Portland Police Bureau in late 2006 and January 2007.

“We were told the woman was not willing to be interviewed by the Portland Police Bureau and did not want a criminal investigation to proceed,’’ Multnomah County District Attorney Michael Schrunk said, in a prepared statement.

Today, as the National Enquirer reported that it had interviewed a Portland masseuse who complained of unwanted sexual contact by the former vice president at the Hotel Lucia on Oct. 24, 2006, the district attorney’s office was notified that the Portland Police Bureau had conducted a further investigation of the allegation in 2009.

“If the complainant and the Portland Police Bureau wish to pursue the possibility of a criminal prosecution, additional investigation by the Bureau will be necessary and will be discussed with the Portland Police Bureau,’’ Schrunk said, in his statement.

At the time, according to a Portland police 2007 report, the woman reported the encounter several weeks after the incident. Portland Detective Cheryl Wadell said the woman cancelled interview appointments three times, and declined police investigation, saying a civil case would be pursued.

Portland police Sgt. Rich Austria had contacted the U.S. Secret Service, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Oregon State Police "in an attempt to have a larger law enforcement agency investigate this case. All aove agencies declined and referred him to the agency of jurisdiction where the alleged crime occurred,'' Waddell wrote in her report.

Waddell was assigned the case Dec. 19, 2006. By 2007, the woman or her attorney told police the case was going to be handled civilly.

"This case is exceptionally cleared'' Waddell wrote in her report, noting the complainant refuses to cooperate with the investigation or even report a crime.

Randall Vogt, a Pearl District attorney specialized in sexual misconduct cases, said he represented the masseuse in 2006 after she claimed Vice-President Al Gore sexually attacked her during a massage.

He declined to identify the woman and said they had not been in touch since her original claim was investigated by Portland Police.

"That file was closed and put to bed and forgotten," Vogt said. "She and I parted on friendly terms as best I can recall."

Vogt said he was not aware that his former client reactivated her claims against Gore last year, prompting police to reinvestigate the allegations.

There's no evidence a civil suit had been filed.

In 2007, then Portland Tribune reporter Nick Budnick made a public records request for the Portland police report, obtained it but the newspaper did not run a story.