Damien Karp, 47 of Beaverton, faces 10 counts of first-degree sex abuse and two counts of second-degree invasion of person privacy after police say he filmed and touched children at a Beaverton gym's hot tub. Detectives believe he may have victimized more children and are asking the public for help.
A convicted rapist is facing felony charges in Washington County after allegedly filming and “inappropriately touching” children at a gym pool.
Staff at the Beaverton athletic club VillaSport called police July 16 after parents caught a member — Damien Karp, 47 of Beaverton — with children in the outdoor hot tub. Karp was arrested and has been in custody at Washington County Jail since.
Karp has been required to register as a sex offender since 2005, when he was convicted of first-degree rape, three counts of first-degree sexual abuse and first-degree sodomy in a case involving the 10-year-old daughter of his then girlfriend. Karp was around 30 years old at the time. He was released from prison in 2019.
Karp was violating his probation and sex-offender registry terms by being near children at the gym.
Police conducted an investigation and allege Karp touched multiple underaged victims — aged 7, 8 and 9 — at the athletic club in June and July, and used a waterproof camera to film the acts. Court documents allege that Karp was calling out to children, asking them to “join him” in one of the club’s hot tubs. When police arrived, Karp smelled of alcohol and said he had nothing to say, prosecutors wrote in the indictment.
Karp, an Oregon native, was indicted August 30 by a Washington County grand jury on 10 counts of first-degree sex abuse and two counts of second-degree invasion of personal privacy.
In an email sent to VillaSport gym members, president Bill Malkovich said the club’s staff helped in the previously confidential child-abuse investigation. Malkovich told members that police searched Karp’s home and found evidence of the secret video recordings of female children swimming in the pool, particularly on June 22.
In the video footage, found on a camera small enough to be hidden inside a hand, Karp followed young girls underwater and recorded them close-up, the Washington County District Attorney wrote.
Karp’s request for pre-trial release was denied.
During its investigation, Beaverton police contacted about 100 families with VillaSport memberships. The athletic club is at 13900 S.W. Meridian Street in Beaverton.
Karp also had a membership with the Tualatin 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. Detectives publicly released Karp’s mugshot because they believe he may have victimized more children.
Contact Detective Chad Opitz at 503-526-2674 or copitz@beavertonoregon.gov with any tips.
This story has been updated.
Correction: The original version of this story misstated the year Karp was released from prison.
— Savannah Eadens; seadens@oregonian.com; 503-221-6651; @savannaheadens
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