Former Beaverton Mayor Dennis “Denny” Doyle on Tuesday pleaded guilty to one count of possession of child pornography, a felony that precludes him from holding public office or voting during any period of incarceration.
Doyle possessed digital material containing child pornography, including images depicting minors under 12, between November 2014 and continuing through December 2015, prosecutors said. Several of the images included children who had been identified as sexually exploited minors by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, according to prosecutors.
On his way out of the courtroom, Doyle said, “You know, we make mistakes.”
The charge was filed after an old computer thumb drive containing the pornography and other personal material belonging to Doyle was turned over to authorities. The FBI’s Child Exploitation Task Force in Portland investigated the case.
Doyle, 74, appeared with Assistant Federal Public Defender Elizabeth Daily before U.S. District Judge Michael W. Mosman in federal court in downtown Portland. He’ll be sentenced at 10 a.m. on Jan. 24 and remains out of custody.
Doyle told the judge he’s in counseling.
Dennis “Denny” Doyle (center), former mayor of Beaverton, exits the federal courthouse in downtown Portland with his wife Ann and defense lawyer Elizabeth Dailey, after having pleaded guilty to illegally possessing child pornography on Tues., Oct. 11, 2022. Dave Killen / The Oregonian
Oregon’s U.S. Attorney Natalie Wight and Doyle’s lawyer will make a joint sentencing recommendation to the court when he returns in January.
According to a plea agreement filed in court Tuesday afternoon, Wight will recommend Doyle face a sentence of one year and one day, which effectively would allow him to serve less than a year in custody. A year and a day is the minimum prison term for a felony conviction. In the federal system, only sentences exceeding one year allow prisoners to obtain early release for good behavior while in custody.
The government also will recommend a five-year term of supervised release to follow any prison term. Doyle and his lawyer may argue for a lower sentence.
Doyle also would have to register as a sex offender, under the plea agreement.
The judge informed Doyle that he’s not bound by the recommendation.
Doyle waived an indictment and entered a plea to the single charge from a criminal information. By pleading guilty to the felony charge, he won’t be allowed to possess a firearm, vote or hold public office, the judge told him. In Oregon, though, his voting and public office restrictions are limited to his period of incarceration, according to state law. Oregon is one of 21 states where felons forfeit their voting rights or right to hold public office only while incarcerated and receive automatic restoration of those rights upon release, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
The maximum penalty for the conviction is up to 20 years in custody and a $250,000 fine.
At Doyle’s initial appearance in court in March, Wight described Doyle as “forthright” and cooperative, adding, “He’s admitted all allegations of the conduct.”
Doyle has been out of custody since his arrest and will remain so pending sentencing under the same conditions set earlier this year.
In March, a federal magistrate judge ordered him to have no direct or indirect contact with anyone under 18. That included his grandchildren, who are between ages 5 and 14, unless he received permission from a pretrial supervision officer.
Further, Doyle was ordered not to use or possess any computer or electronic media with internet access including cellphones without prior approval and he must allow random or regular monitoring of his computer use. He also was ordered not to affiliate with any organization or volunteer group that would put him in contact with anyone under 18.
Federal authorities plan to seek the forfeiture of at least one purple 64GB Lexar USB thumb drive, according to court records.
Doyle served as a Beaverton city councilor for more than a decade before he was elected mayor in 2008. He served three terms in the city’s top elected position, relinquishing the job in 2020 after he was beaten in a runoff election.
In 1993, Doyle helped found the Westside Metros Soccer Club, a nonprofit youth soccer club that hired professional coaches to lead about 30 boys and girls soccer teams. When he took office, he was a paid employee of the club.
The club had changed its name to the Westside Timbers Soccer Club, until May 1, when the club withdrew from the Timbers Alliance and went back to the name Westside Metros.
Doyle had served as vice president of the Westside Timbers Soccer Club until early March, when the club learned of the criminal allegation, according to Davy Dupon, club president, said in March.
“He was in an administrative role with the club and financial adviser. He didn’t have contact with the kids in the club,” Dupon said earlier this year.
In 2008, Doyle was named Citizen of the Year by the Boy Scouts of America, then recognized for his longtime community service and work with youth sports. In addition to founding the Westside Metros Soccer Club, he served on the Westside Recreational Soccer Club Board and was a board member of the Beaverton Baseball and Softball Association. He had sat on the Tualatin Hills Park & Recreation District’s board and on school committees for Beaverton High School and Sexton Mountain Elementary School.
Doyle had a prior run-in with police. When he ran for mayor in 2008, Doyle apologized for a 2002 arrest in Lincoln City for drunken driving, saying it was a “mistake” he deeply regretted. At the time, he was in Lincoln City for a youth soccer tournament. He said he was stopped when he decided to drive his wife to the hospital after he had been drinking. He entered diversion and the case was dismissed in 2003.
Less than a week before Doyle was charged in the pornography case, Portland City Council candidate Rene Gonzalez’s campaign, “Rene For Portland,” had put out a social media notice, saying it was proud to announce that Doyle had endorsed Gonzalez for a Portland city commissioner seat. The notice was subsequently removed.
-- Maxine Bernstein
Email mbernstein@oregonian.com; 503-221-8212
Follow on Twitter @maxoregonian
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