Al Gore massage sexual assault case: Portland Police issue statement, read police report here

Former U.S. Vice President Al Gore speaks during a visit to Suntech, a solar cell factory, in Wuxi near Shanghai, China, Friday, June 11, 2010. (AP Photo) 
 

Al Gore massage sexual assault case: Portland Police issue statement, read police report here.

The National Enquirer is reporting a sex scandal involving former Vice President Al Gore.  A  female massage therapist alleges unwanted sexual touching by Gore in 2006.

Click here to read a detailed police report.   But warning, it contains graphic details of the alleged incident.   The therapist claims  that Gore groped her, forced an opened-mouth kiss on her and forced her hand on his genitals.

Could Gore face criminal charges and possible jail time?

According to the National Enquirer, Multnomah County, Oregon, District Attorney Michael D. Schrunk, issued a statement opening the door to a possible criminal investigation.

The DA said that there’s "the possibility of a criminal prosecution," but that it apparently rests on the masseuse and police.

The DA’s statement added, "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."

The story is already generating buzz here in the San Francisco Bay Area.   By Wednesday night, it was the third most read story on the San Francisco Chronicle's Web site.   Writer and former Chronicle Editor Phil Bronstein noted Gore's documented $540 massage bill.

"Personally, I've never paid more than $150 for a massage so, while it's not Eliot Spitzer territory, the amount feels like it goes beyond any G-rated skin areas," Bronstein writes. 
 

The Portland Tribune reports that  the therapist’s lawyer did not file a police report until nearly two months after the alleged incident.   The paper says that it knew about the story but declined to publish it.

The article explained: “In 2007 and 2008, after locating the massage therapist and conducting extensive interviews and doing other reporting on this case, the Tribune chose not to publish the story. The Tribune held back, in part, because the woman was reluctant to be named in the story.”
 

Below is a press release issued byPortland Police on Wednesday, June 23.  

 PORTLAND POLICE ISSUE STATEMENT REGARDING
ALLEGATIONS AGAINST AL GORE

A national tabloid magazine has published a story discussing allegations made by a Portland
woman against former Vice President Al Gore. The Portland Police Bureau does not generally
disclose information regarding sex crimes, as they are deemed confidential. However, because
of the high-profile nature of this case and the fact that the woman involved provided reports to a
media outlet, we will provide the following information:
 

In December 2006, a local attorney contacted the Portland Police Bureau and said he had a client
that wanted to report an unwanted sexual contact by Mr. Gore. This allegation stemmed from an
incident on October 24, 2006, when the woman involved, a Licensed Massage Therapist, was
called to a local hotel to provide a massage to Mr. Gore.
 

After repeated attempts by Portland Police Detectives to interview the woman involved, the
Police Bureau was told by her attorney in January 2007, that they were pursuing civil litigation
and declined the assistance of the Portland Police Bureau’s Detective Division. A special report
was written and the case was exceptionally cleared—a standard procedure when the person
involved declines to talk to police. The District Attorney’s Office was consulted during this
time.
 

On January 6, 2009, the woman involved came to the Detective Division and explained that she
would like to give a statement. On January 8, 2009, a Detective and a victim advocate assigned
to the Sexual Assault Detail met with the woman. The woman read from a prepared statement
and detailed the events of October 24, 2006. She reported that she was repeatedly subjected to
unwanted sexual touching while in his presence.

The woman reported that she still had clothes that she had worn during the encounter. But due to
the description she gave of the incident, detectives did not collect the clothes as evidence because
they did not feel there was any evidentiary value to the clothing.
 

After interviewing the woman, the Police Bureau provided additional services per the victim
advocate program. The case was not investigated any further because detectives concluded there
was insufficient evidence to support the allegations.
 

In June 2010, the woman involved contacted Detectives and asked for a copy of her statement,
which she was given. She then asked if she could edit her statement and was told she could
provide detectives with additional clarifications that would be added to her original report. She
also advised that she was going to take the case to the media.

The District Attorney’s Office has a copy of the reports. At this point, the Police Bureau does
not consider this an ongoing investigation unless new evidence is received in this case.
The Police Bureau is releasing the redacted reports concurrent with this news release. In 2007,
the Police Bureau released the initial special report regarding the incident after it received a
public records request by the Portland Tribune.
 

Portland Police Bureau report on Al Gore