Danielle Tudor

Danielle Tudor is on a journey she never wanted to start.

As a teenager, she was raped and beaten in her own home by Portland’s notorious, serial “jogger rapist.” The 17-year-old reported the 1979 attack and allowed collection of forensic evidence with a rape kit. But her attacker, Richard Troy Gillmore, wasn’t apprehended until seven years later. He had evaded capture so long that the statute of limitations had run out for eight of his nine victims.

She sees Gillmore’s face on a monitor every two years at his parole hearing as he speaks from Two Rivers Correctional Institution in Umatilla, where he is incarcerated.

Tudor will tell her story and talk about efforts to lengthen Oregon’s six-year statute of limitations on rape Tuesday evening at Blue Mountain Community College. The session begins at 6 p.m. in Pioneer Hall, Room 132.

Only five states have shorter statutory limits than Oregon. A Senate bill, sponsored by Sen. Peter Courtney, D-Salem, and Sen. Jeff Kruse, R-Roseburg, would extend the statute of limitations in rape cases to 20 years. If a rapist leaves DNA evidence, however, there is no statute of limitations in the state.

“We’re at the bottom of the barrel,” Tudor said. “Over half the states in the country (26) have no statute of limitations.”

Memories of her violent beating and rape continue to haunt Tudor. When Gillmore was arrested in 1986 for the rape of 13-year-old Tiffany Edens, he also confessed to the rapes of Tudor and other women. The statute of limitations at the time, however, was only three years, so only the attack on Edens could be prosecuted.

“We were all locked out by the statute,” Tudor said.

The Oregon Criminal Defense Lawyers Association opposes extending the limitations, saying such a long time frame could make it difficult to give defendants a fair trial.

Tudor worries more about the victims.

“Under today’s six-year law, my rapist would still not have been prosecuted,” Tudor said. “If a rapist is canny enough to evade arrest and to avoid leaving DNA evidence behind, then after six years he’s untouchable. That’s not acceptable.”

Tudor spends much of her time on the road lobbying, advocating for other rape victims and urging people to contact their legislators. She knows her activism might put her on Gillmore’s radar.

“I could fade away and not be a target,” she said, “but if I turn and run now, I’m still that terrified 17-year-old girl who was raped.”

But, the Portland woman worries about his eventual release from prison.

“He is a very dangerous offender,” she said. “Gillmore will get out one day. He will not spend his life in prison as he should.”

Tudor said most rape victims don’t report being attacked. Women often approach Tudor after she speaks and admit staying silent out of shame or fear.

“One in three women in their lifetime will experience sexual assault,” Tudor said.

According to the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network, an American is sexually assaulted every 107 seconds. Ninety-eight percent of rapists, Tudor said, never spend a day in jail.

A longer statute of limitations would help, she said.

“We’re long overdue,” she said. “It’s not right that people like me can’t get justice.”

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Contact Kathy Aney at kaney@eastoregonian.com or call 541-966-0810.