On April 17, 2023, convicted child rapist Damien Karp was sentenced to 25 years in prison for secretly filming and touching young children at VillaSport Athletic Club last summer. Karp pled guilty to multiple counts of Sexual Abuse in the First Degree and at sentencing asked the judge to show leniency.
Deputy District Attorney, Rayney Meisel, asked Judge Oscar Garcia to sentence Karp to 25 years, the maximum available sentence. Karp had previously served 15 years in prison for the rape and sexual abuse of a 10-year-old girl and had just completed sex-offender treatment at the time he joined VillaSport Athletic Club and began filming and touching children at the pool. Karp used a small underwater camera to film the children, all of whom were under the age of 10.
Karp was caught when the father of one of the victims noticed him behaving unusually towards his daughter and other children in the hot tub. The father confronted Karp, resulting in police being called to the club. Numerous children reported that Karp had touched them inappropriately under the water or attempted to touch them. Karp was violating the terms of his parole and sex-offender registry by being near children at the gym. A search warrant recovered multiple videos of the secret recordings, underwater touches, and other incriminating evidence.
At sentencing and in filings DDA Meisel said, “I have never seen a more concerning report. Mr. Karp has a history so egregious it would be irresponsible to the community and shock the conscious to give him anything less than a 300-month sentence.” Judge Garcia agreed, and sentenced Karp to 25 years in prison.
At sentencing, Meisel also read victim statements urging the judge to hold Karp accountable. One of the 8-year-old victims said, “When he touched me, I felt unsafe, upset and uncomfortable. It felt to me like I needed to take a shower and wash It off.”
Karp was also a member at the Tualatin Hills Hills Park and Recreation District, and police say he may have gone to the district’s main swimming pool at 15707 S.W. Walker Road sometime in April of 2022. Contact Detective Chad Opitz at 503-526-2674 or copitz@beavertonoregon.gov with any tips.
