DA Blasts Mental Health Label Shielding Repeat Sex Offender From Prosecution

Lane County District Attorney Christopher Parosa publicly condemned Oregon's mental competency system after the fourth arrest in just over a year of Eugene registered sex offender Kerry Michael Diamond, calling the situation "an outrageous situation that we've been put into" and "a failure of public policy."

Diamond, 36, was arrested on March 31, 2025, after a 911 caller reported a man had tried to grab a 19-year-old woman near Bailey Hill Road and West 11th Avenue at approximately 11:33 a.m. Eugene Police identified Diamond at the scene. He was booked into Lane County Jail on charges of third-degree attempted sexual abuse, attempted harassment, second-degree disorderly conduct, and second-degree criminal trespass.

The obstacle to prosecution is a February 2025 determination by a court-appointed psychologist that Diamond is "never able" to aid and assist in his own defense. Under Oregon Revised Statute 161.370, that finding allows a judge to discontinue the criminal commitment order, and Parosa said cases like Diamond's typically end in dismissal. He called the designation a "get out of jail free card," warning that repeat offenders released without proper intervention leave the community unprotected.

Diamond's documented history gave the DA's alarm concrete shape. On January 22, 2025, Diamond was arrested following multiple harassment incidents across Eugene beginning at 8:32 a.m., including groping and soliciting sex from a woman at a Dari Mart, chasing another woman while threatening to kill her, and approaching additional women. Officers found him near West 18th Avenue and Chambers Street. Charges included third-degree sex abuse, three counts of second-degree disorderly conduct, and failure to register as a sex offender. Earlier, on June 4, 2023, he was arrested near West 11th Avenue and Seneca Road after following a woman into a store, soliciting her for sex, and exposing himself, prompting the Eugene Police Department to seek additional victims through social media.

The "never able" designation sits within a broader legal framework under growing statewide pressure. When defendants are found unfit to stand trial, they are typically sent to Oregon State Hospital in Salem for competency restoration. Evaluators issue one of three rulings: "able," "not yet able," or "never able." A "never able" finding can result in release into the community or civil commitment proceedings, though civil commitment carries a high evidentiary bar and is pursued far less frequently than prosecutors would prefer.

The scale of the problem extends well beyond Diamond's case. Aid and Assist patients now account for 56 percent of Oregon State Hospital's entire patient population. An Oregon Health Authority report found that demand for competency restoration services "has reached crisis levels," and a 2021 study published in the Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law documented "explosive growth" in competency referrals to Oregon State Hospital between 2000 and 2020, with study participants describing a recurring "revolving door" phenomenon. Under rules implemented to address overcrowding at the hospital, lower-level offenders in community restoration must be released within 90 days, and those charged with nonviolent felonies within six months, regardless of whether restoration has been achieved.

With a "never able" determination already on record from February 2025, Parosa's warning carries real weight: Diamond's most recent charges could be heading for dismissal before they ever reach a Lane County courtroom.