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 a child in the outdoor hot tub. Karp was arrested and has been in custody at Washington County Jail since.
Karp was required to register as a sex offender since 2005, when he was convicted by a jury of first-degree rape, three counts of first-degree sexual abuse and first-degree sodomy in a case involving a girl who was under the age of 12 when some of the crimes occurred. Karp was around 30 years old at the time. He was released from prison in 2009.
Karp was violating his probation and sex-offender registry terms by being near children at the gym.
After an investigation, police say Karp touched multiple underaged victims at the gym in June and July, and used a waterproof camera to film the acts.
Karp was indicted August 30 by a Washington County grand jury for 10 counts of first-degree sex abuse and two counts of second-degree invasion of person privacy.
In an email sent to VillaSport gym members, president Bill Malkovich said the gym 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 at the gym pool, particularly on June 22.
Beaverton police contacted about 100 families with VillaSport memberships who may have been there that day. 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 released Karp’s mugshot this week because they believe he may have victimized more children.
