Originally published August 15 in PQ Monthly.

By Erin Rook, PQ Monthly

Robert Paul Patton, a 43-year-old registered sex offender and Milwaukie resident, has been indicted on a number of felony sex offense charges, including one count of child sexual abuse in the first degree and 62 counts of possessing child pornography.

The former Sherwood High School principal is best known to the LGBTQ community as the publisher of FabulousPDX.com, a website that aggregates news from various media sources, including PQ Monthly.

Patton was arrested June 13 on charges he sexually abused a 12-year-old boy. Though Patton made bail and was released, police allegedly found child pornography on his computer and arrested him again July 18, according to Prosecutor Ryan Lufkin.

As of press time, Patton was being held in the Multnomah County Jail on $700,000 bail. Child sexual abuse in the first degree is a Measure 11 offense and carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 75 months.
The alleged abuse by Patton was reported by the 12-year-old, as part of a report including accusations against other adult men, Lufkin says.

According to the prosecution’s probable cause affidavit, “… [Patton] slept in the same bed as [the child] and another male named Jonny. [The child] reported that he gave the defendant a hand job. Jonny, when interviewed, confirmed that the defendant and [the child] were sleeping in the bed together and kissing. [The child] reported that this occurred in the summer of 2011.”

Lufkin says the prosecution believes that Jonny Bladimir Landa-Aburto — who is currently being held in Washington County on charges including sodomy, sexual abuse, and luring a minor — served as a “facilitator.”

“What we believe is that Johnny’s role seems to be to match up kids with other older males,” Lufkin says.
Two other men have been arrested on related sex abuse charges. Víctor Fernán Gonzáles-Sánchez was arrested Jan. 27 on one count of sodomy in the first degree and two counts of sexual abuse in the first degree. Kelvin León-Morales was arrested Feb. 1 on charges of sodomy in the second and third degree, sexual abuse in the first degree, and displaying child sexual conduct. Both men are being held in Washington County.

Patton’s trial is currently scheduled for Sept. 10, though neither Lufkin nor Patton’s attorney, Josh Gibbs, expect it will happen that soon.

“These type of allegations are really serious. There’s just a lot to get sorted out,” Gibbs says. He declined to comment further on the case.

This is not the first time Patton has faced such charges. He was convicted in 2003 of two counts of sexual abuse in the third degree involving a 16-year-old boy and one count of possessing child pornography. He was sentenced to six months in prison and one year in a halfway house.

As a result of those convictions, Patton is required to register as a sex offender for life. He first re-appeared on police radar when he failed to do so within 10 days of his Dec. 13 birthday in 2011. Patton is not currently listed on the public database of Oregon sex offenders, which only shares information about sex offenders who have been designated as “predatory” — meaning that they present a high risk of re-offending or are considered a “sexually violent dangerous offender” under Oregon law.