Statement Regarding Jaime Tinoco

Statement from Juvenile Department Director Lynn Schroeder Regarding Jaime Tinoco

As previously reported, a former client of the Washington County Juvenile Department, 17-year-old Jaime Tinoco, was charged and recently convicted of a violent sexual assault. This assault occurred on September 13, 2014, several hours after he separated from supervisory staff on a county‐sponsored trip to a University of Oregon football game.

In light of new information that Tinoco has been indicted for homicide, we are deeply distressed to learn that this young man allegedly took an innocent life. Our hearts continue to go out to the victim of the sexual assault, and now to the family and friends of Nicole Laube.

At the time of Ms. Laube's murder in August, Jaime Tinoco was on court‐ordered probation for prior offenses. He had been placed on probation by the Juvenile Court on July 28, 2014, for Burglary in the First Degree, Unlawful Possession of Methamphetamine and Harassment. Following consideration of those crimes and the circumstances known at the time, Tinoco was not sentenced to physical custody but was directed by the Juvenile Court to live with his parents in the community.

All clients under our supervision undergo an initial risk assessment screening and then other interventions as ordered by the court. Risk screening evaluates a youth's risk and protective factors which correlate to their likelihood to reoffend. Such tools improve our ability to develop effective case plans which include appropriate interventions needed to address each youth's individual risk factors and needs. Under Oregon law, the results of a juvenile risk assessment are confidential and privileged information and thus cannot be shared with the public. In the case of Mr. Tinoco, what we can share is that the findings, along with recommendations from the prosecution and the defense attorneys, informed the terms of probation imposed last July by the Juvenile Court Judge.

While we are prohibited from sharing information regarding individual youth, a juvenile offender displaying this level of violence is extremely rare in our community. When there are indicators of violence or sexual deviance, we request that the Juvenile Court require evaluations. That information is used to develop intervention plans and further recommendations that we make to the court. Our tools are some of the best available, but they still are not 100 percent predictive.

While juvenile crime has declined every year for the past five years in Washington County and we have been successful with many youth, we must acknowledge, regrettably, that we are not able to prevent every youth from reoffending or predict their extreme behaviors. We will continue to hold youth accountable and teach them the skills they need to be safe, contributing citizens. This includes teaching and reinforcing pro‐social behaviors, as well as recommending court‐ordered sanctions such as detention when appropriate. We remain committed to doing everything we can to keep our community safe and to support and restore victims in their healing process.

Media Contact: