Eugene Caregiver Sentenced for Sexually Abusing 86-Year-Old Memory Care Resident

Michael Dominic Putman, the evening caretaker at Churchill Estates memory care facility in Eugene, was sentenced to 15 years in prison after pleading guilty to sexually abusing an 86-year-old cognitively impaired resident in his care, the Oregon attorney general's office announced Jan. 13.

Putman, 50, pleaded guilty that same day in Lane County Circuit Court to four counts of first-degree sexual abuse and criminal mistreatment. Prosecutors dismissed 12 additional counts of first-degree sexual abuse as part of the resolution.

The abuse unfolded over several months while Putman worked evening shifts at Churchill Estates, where the victim, identified in court documents only by her initials M.K., lived as a resident. A July court filing by Katherine Green, a senior assistant attorney with the Oregon Department of Justice who prosecuted the case, described the moment the abuse came to light: in April 2023, Putman "was found by another staff member on top of M. K. with his pants and underwear off."

Green's filing left little ambiguity about how close the crimes came to never being discovered. "Had the defendant not been caught in the named victim's room, this crime likely would have gone undetected," she wrote.

Eugene Police Department Detective Sean Kelley led the investigation that brought the case to Lane County Circuit Court.

The Putman sentencing is one of several serious sexual abuse cases prosecuted in Lane County in recent months. In a separate matter, Eugene's Jeremy Lee Gray, 32, was sentenced to 50 years in prison after pleading guilty to raping and sexually abusing two young children who were in his care, with Deputy District Attorney Spencer Gwartney stating that the older child's abuse began shortly after she turned four in December 2019, and the younger was victimized at 18 months old during a diaper change in May 2021. Gray is not eligible for early release and will remain under post-prison supervision for life.

Also unconnected to the Putman case, Matthew Allen Drake, 46, was sentenced to 50 years on April 23, 2025, following a 16-day jury trial in which he was convicted of four counts of first-degree rape, two counts of first-degree sodomy, and tampering with physical evidence involving a victim under 16. The Lane County Sheriff's Office had opened that investigation in March 2023.

Meanwhile, the Lane County Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force has remained active on separate fronts. Seth Nishimatsu Smith, 30, of Eugene, was arrested on 20 counts related to encouraging child sex abuse following an ICAC investigation, and D'Angelo Ke'Shawn Ford, 25, pleaded guilty on Sept. 29, 2025, to three counts of first-degree encouraging child sex abuse, four counts of invasion of personal privacy, and unlawful firearm possession, stemming from a November 2024 search warrant served at a Lowell residence. Ford was sentenced to five years.