Dam Rath
Seren KongOctober 17, 2009
By Lisa Lednicer
The Oregonian
HILLSBORO – Seren Kong was a lonely widow with five children when she met Dam Rath at a welfare office. He charmed her and made her feel wanted. Then, after moving into her house, he started molesting her two underage daughters.
Kong not only approved of the sexual abuse but also consented when Rath offered to pay her if she allowed the abuse to continue, prosecutors said. She took her youngest daughter for a car ride and told the 11-year-old girl of the arrangement. When the girl resisted, prosecutors said, Kong answered that if the daughter loved her mother, she'd do what she said.
Kong, 62, of Hillsboro pleaded guilty in Washington County Circuit Court Thursday to attempted rape, attempted sodomy and attempted compelling prostitution. Judge Thomas W. Kohl sentenced her to about 4 1/2 years in prison.
Rath, 54, was sentenced to more than 31 years in prison for the abuse of Kong's daughters, which occurred over two years. Rath served six years and three months in prison for shooting his wife to death in 1996.
Police arrested Rath and Kong last November after her daughter told a friend about the abuse. The friend told a school counselor.
Deputy District Attorney Dan Hesson said Rath worked as a cook in a Thai restaurant and the money he paid Kong didn't amount to much. Kong was in the room when some of the abuse occurred, he said.
Kong's attorney, Ethan Levi, said Kong suffered from post-traumatic stress syndrome after seeing people murdered in Cambodia during the Khmer Rouge regime. She spent two years in a Thai refugee camp. Kong doesn't speak English and survives on disability checks.
"There are many, many mitigating facts in the case," Levi said. "The case didn't resolve fairly. The children didn't want this result to happen."
Hesson said if the case had gone to trial and Kong was convicted, she could have received a minimum of 25 years in prison. He said her daughters didn't want their mother to serve a long prison sentence, so prosecutors offered a lighter sentence in exchange for her testimony against Rath.
Hesson said the youngest daughter now lives with a relative and is doing well in school.
Kong not only approved of the sexual abuse but also consented when Rath offered to pay her if she allowed the abuse to continue, prosecutors said. She took her youngest daughter for a car ride and told the 11-year-old girl of the arrangement. When the girl resisted, prosecutors said, Kong answered that if the daughter loved her mother, she'd do what she said.
Kong, 62, of Hillsboro pleaded guilty in Washington County Circuit Court Thursday to attempted rape, attempted sodomy and attempted compelling prostitution. Judge Thomas W. Kohl sentenced her to about 4 1/2 years in prison.
Rath, 54, was sentenced to more than 31 years in prison for the abuse of Kong's daughters, which occurred over two years. Rath served six years and three months in prison for shooting his wife to death in 1996.
Police arrested Rath and Kong last November after her daughter told a friend about the abuse. The friend told a school counselor.
Deputy District Attorney Dan Hesson said Rath worked as a cook in a Thai restaurant and the money he paid Kong didn't amount to much. Kong was in the room when some of the abuse occurred, he said.
Kong's attorney, Ethan Levi, said Kong suffered from post-traumatic stress syndrome after seeing people murdered in Cambodia during the Khmer Rouge regime. She spent two years in a Thai refugee camp. Kong doesn't speak English and survives on disability checks.
"There are many, many mitigating facts in the case," Levi said. "The case didn't resolve fairly. The children didn't want this result to happen."
Hesson said if the case had gone to trial and Kong was convicted, she could have received a minimum of 25 years in prison. He said her daughters didn't want their mother to serve a long prison sentence, so prosecutors offered a lighter sentence in exchange for her testimony against Rath.
Hesson said the youngest daughter now lives with a relative and is doing well in school.
23 comments:
She is 62 years old and has 5 children and her youngest daughter is 11, which means this old woman had a youngest child while she was 51. She must have slept with any man who paid her cash, so how many fathers do her 5 children have. Her children may each have different father. This old woman has a good sex appetite. Instead of hurting her children she should have gobe to any Church who could help her and her children. Oh what a waste?
Her new boy friend named Dam Rath? Is he Thai? He shot his wife to death and went to jail just 6 years?
Man I tell you I will shoot this Thai bastard Dam Rath if he ever hurts my sisters and brothers.
Send both of them to life in prision, what kind of mother force her own child to have sex with old man..?
I agree 1:13pm, let these thugs suffer in jail...
Man! we had Teacher(in cambodia) who tortured the child, now we have mother force her own daughter to have sex with her boyfriend..? what ta hell is going on with people these day?? that son of a bitch must get his dick chop off, so he can not have sex the rest of his life, mother fucker!
That stupid DAM RATH should rape that Teacher Meas Nary or Meas Nasty who tortured the child with plier, if he so hungry, kadouy mai ah tonna ha krass!!
This mother must has Bei Sarch"evil" inside of her, why she allows her own child to sleep with her boyfriend? by forceing her child? what an evil mother....
Why the shock. This happens ever single day in Cambodia. Don't believe? All one has to do is go into the Sony Restaurant on Street 214. There you will find a dozen girls 11 to 15 who were sold by their mothers to have sex with Korean men. But if you are not Korean, you cannot go in...only Koreans are allowed in to have sex with underage Cambodian girls. But no one stops this because why? The oner is well-connected? The oner also likes young girls? It should be stopped.
This kind of sad divers fait happened in every society whether in western countries society but indeed it is much rare and often less violence than in poor societies because people are much informed and victims are much defended. It is much horrific when it is happened in poor countries though rights victims are poor protected. The democratic countries ruled by laws the perverts and criminals think twice before committing act of crime because they know that they will be severely punished unlike in poor countries in Cambodia or other underdeveloped countries in which perverts and criminals are much protected than the victims because they are rich and powerful people.
Attempted sodomy of an 11-year old? Let's see how Dam Rath likes sodomy when he meets Big Bubba in jail.
Zero tolerant to child abused. I like to see this man in jail and have a criminal record presses against his criminal acts. After his sentence is served I would like the gov't to put an eye on him in case he continues this act toward his own children and others again. His education certificate must be confiscated and disqualified him from doing his job. Whoever gave him the certificate should be able to compensate for the child/children who have been abused by this wicked man. Usually minister of welfare or human services boards are responsible for the pay out, e.g. Members of the welfare boards should be covered for their public liability of up to e.g. $10 millions dollars or its depend on the Khmer currency. Compensation depends on how old the child is, number of injuries e.g. physical, mental, and social development and other impacts etc. I would like to see all Khmer medias working together to crack down all sort of abuses as well as name and shame them in every corners of the news system. By doing so is to avoid any other kinds of abuses happening to another person/s. We Khmer must learn to work together as a team and try to promote and protect everyone equally and that everyone is "equally important". Zero tolerant to any kind of abuses!!!! Enough is enough, when one person is hurt, it means we all are responsible for it because the theory of "all for one and one for all means we are in it together!. Aust
Seren Kong (61) does not speak English, so Dam Rath may be 90%Cambodian.
They both have to be jailed for 100years.
great, some people just have magic ball to see everything without moving an inn from their toilette
They must be stupid buddhists piece of S**T! if you'd accepted Jesus Nothing like would have happens!
Praise the lord for upon inflicting pain on these non-believers!
God bless!
my god, and your believe yourself as a believer. If hell existed you should be the first one to be sent to hell
Religion doesn't play a role here! They are just sick, despicable, disgusting animals.
This is a perfect classic example of divorces, single parent, widow families and etc . The victimes, majority of time are the innocennes and children. Parents, if you can not care for your love one or ones (childrend), please seek help. In the USA, there always people waiting to help. If you do not know where to seek for help, just walk into any police stations, churches, non-profit organizations, even restaurents or grocery stores or a library, I can assure you there will be people willing to direct you to an appropriate authority or authorities to help you. Pointing finger will not help. Children safty come first.
559.
James Eng,
You are not a true and good christian. Go back and read your bible again and stop judging others less you will be judged by the Lord, thy God.
What kind of christian are you? It sounds like you are full of hatred for those who don't believe in your Jesus.
Is that what Jesus told you to do?
Your religion can't be better than other people's because your writing tells it all.
they both need spend the rest of their lives plus 300 more year in jail.
Who the hell is James Eng. He is bloody fool christian! I am not of any religion believer and i would judge James Eng is not right Christian. He is too stuid to blame Rath and Kong. The case is not at all linked with the Buddhism or any other religion, but individual act!
Let's consider again James before you once again fall into the hell!
Katank Yos
Everyone if you wanted to know, what a person has no conscience's look alike, just look at that Dam rat.This is what a pure evill look like.
Anica PTSD of Cambodians
I would like to ask Post 4:01PM, can you please give me the name of that Restaurant on St.214...? i will send people to investigate on this place...
pp police dept.
wOULD YOU LOVE SAMDACH OEV JUST LIKE THE MOTHER WANT IT FROM HER CHILDREN?
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