PORTLAND, OR – A man who entered a stranger’s home and attacked a mother holding her 10-month-old baby while her husband worked outside has been sentenced to 22 years in prison, closing a case prosecutors described as among the most disturbing they have handled.
Judson C. Defir, 43, pleaded guilty to sexual abuse and no contest to kidnapping, attempted rape, attempted sexual abuse and public indecency in connection with the March attack inside a South Tabor neighborhood home. According to court records and police affidavits, the assault unfolded as the woman was playing with her 3-year-old daughter upstairs.
“This was absolutely a nightmare scenario by every account,” said Multnomah County District Attorney Nathan Vasquez at Defir’s sentencing, according to The Oregonian.
Attack inside family home
Investigators said Defir walked through the front door and up the stairs before confronting the mother in a bedroom. “She heard a male voice say, ‘Honey, I’m here,'” the affidavit said. “She realized it was not her husband’s voice and then saw an unknown male [Defir] at the threshold of the bedroom door.”
Police said the man immediately grabbed the woman while she was holding the infant. “The male grabbed [the mother] while she was holding the baby and pulled her out of the room, across the hallway and into the guest bedroom,” the affidavit stated. “Once in the bedroom, the male forced [the mother] onto the bed by her hips.”
The affidavit described how the victim was pinned face-down while still holding the child. Defir “pressed down on her back and hips” as he attempted to sexually assault her, with the pressure forcing her weight onto the baby.
The woman asked to place the infant in a crib to avoid injury. Defir allowed her to leave briefly, and she returned to barricade herself and her 3-year-old in another room using a bookshelf. “The male attempted to force his way into the room,” the affidavit recounted.
The victim then went onto a balcony and yelled for help, alerting her husband, who had been outside doing yard work.
Suspect fled as neighbors responded
Police said multiple people from a nearby church ran toward the home to assist after hearing the commotion, but Defir had already fled. Officers arriving at the scene found the victim “sobbing uncontrollably,” repeatedly yelling that he “tried to rape her,” according to the affidavit.
Investigators later linked Defir to additional incidents in the area. “Responding officers determined that minutes before this attack [on the mother], the suspect entered a nearby church where he touched a woman inappropriately before fleeing,” a police press release said. “In addition to these two incidents, the male is suspected of grabbing two other women who were walking in the neighborhood.”
Defense cites drug use
During sentencing, Defir’s attorney pointed to methamphetamine use as a factor. “This incident was horrifying and extremely sobering for him,” attorney Elizabeth Wolozin said. “Mr. Defir is extremely motivated to never touch methamphetamine again.”
Defir also addressed the court. “I wish I could change the past, but I can’t,” he said. “I can only change the future and do better in the future. That’s all I can do.”
Records cited by The Oregonian show Defir had prior police contact, including a 2024 arrest involving erratic behavior at a park and in a residential driveway.
