Case Dropped Against Official Who Pepper-Sprayed Suspected Prostitute

Assault charges were dismissed Thursday against a school board member accused of using pepper spray on a teenager she thought was a prostitute.

Prosecutor Dan Reynolds said the charges were dropped because the girl’s mother, the primary witness in the case, was charged with prostitution two weeks after the incident.

The 15-year-old girl claimed that Parkrose School Board member Jennifer Young pepper-sprayed her on June 6 after photographing her and following her to a grocery store, where she and her mother confronted Young in her car.

Young, who has been crusading against prostitution in her neighborhood for the last four years, left Thursday’s arraignment hearing without comment.

Her lawyer, Martin Reeves, said she saw the girl emerging from what she said was a known prostitute’s hotel room, took her picture and prepared to leave the grocery store parking lot. Reeves said the girl, joined by her mother, blocked Young’s car and began kicking the door. Young sprayed the girl in the face, he said.

“My client was fearing for her safety,” Reeves said. “She didn’t go out to harm anyone.”