Repeat offender allegedly commits more sex crimes after forced release from county jail

Ethan Myers, The Daily Astorian, Ore.
·3 min read
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Apr. 3—A man facing sex crime charges who was released from the old Clatsop County Jail in January due to overcrowding was indicted Thursday for similar crimes.

Jeremiah Tolley Jr., 26, of Milton, Delaware, who has a history of committing acts of public indecency and sexual assault, has been arrested for sex crimes three times on the North Coast since September.

Last week, Tolley was arrested after allegedly masturbating in public and touching the buttocks of several women across Seaside.

District Attorney Ron Brown said Tolley's release was one of many from the old 60-bed jail in Astoria because of limited space and inmates awaiting trial for violent or sex-related offenses. A new 148-bed county jail opened in Warrenton in February.

"We want to keep more dangerous people in jail," Brown said. " ... We're just glad we got a new jail opened up and we're taking advantage of it."

Decisions on forced release depend in part on risk assessments done by the Clatsop County Sheriff's Office. The risk assessments look at the type of charge and the defendant's criminal history.

"Whereas, we would rather not release him, no matter what his (risk assessment) was, he floated to the top and we just ran out of space," Paul Williams, the undersheriff, said of Tolley.

Tolley arrived in Astoria on September from a cruise ship, where he worked as a server. He was caught masturbating at Annie's Saloon, an Astoria strip club, and was later arrested. Tolley pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor count of public indecency and was given 25 days in jail and 18 months of supervised probation.

In October, just days after getting sentenced, Tolley allegedly followed a woman along the Astoria Riverwalk. The woman told police he fell to the ground with his pants off and started masturbating.

Tolley was charged with a felony count of public indecency because of his previous conviction. He pleaded not guilty.

While awaiting trial, court records show Tolley had two release considerations but was eventually let out on forced release at the end of January.

"We certainly hope to avoid releasing in those situations," Williams said. " ... We got the space, we're using it and we're starting to see our numbers climb up, but it's giving our (probation officers) more opportunity to hold people accountable and along with at least getting people in front of a judge for arraignment. That's also a good thing."

Last week, according to a probable cause affidavit, Tolley was seen on security footage masturbating at the Seaside Carousel Mall. He also allegedly touched and grabbed the buttocks of several females, some juveniles, across Seaside.

Tolley, who allegedly filmed some of the encounters, reportedly told officers he had an illness and was a "sex addict," the affidavit said.

Tolley, who is being held without bail for his probation violation, is facing two felony counts of public indecency, four counts of sexual abuse in the third degree and four counts of harassment.

Tolley also has convictions for sexual battery in Virginia, where he had been grabbing and groping women on trails, according to news coverage. He has also faced charges for indecent exposure in Maryland.