Portland, OR- Judge Thomas Ryan found Daniel Luis Cassinelli guilty today on charges of Rape in the First Degree, two counts of Sodomy in the First Degree, and two counts of Sex Abuse in the Second Degree.
The case dates back to 2015 when Cassinelli, who was working as a loss prevention officer at a Portland area Rite Aid caught the victim shoplifting. He took her into the basement of the store and raped her.
Deputy District Attorney Quinn Zemel prosecuted the case for the state. After the conviction he said:
“Victims, no matter their background or life circumstances deserve to be believed, and will be believed.”
“As part of the Sexual Assault Kit Initiative even old cases can still be brought forward. Its never too late for justice.”
The Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office would like to thank retired Portland Police Investigator Matthew Irvine and Portland Police Detective Matthew Brown for their tremendous work on this case.
We would also like to acknowledge the work of MCDA Victim Advocate Alliston Miller who did a fantastic job working with the victim during the ordeal of the trial.
Facts:
On 1/21/15 The victim reported to police that she was sexually assaulted in the loss prevention office of a Rite Aid. She reported that she was caught shoplifting by an LPO (later ID’d as Daniel Cassinelli), defendant. The defendant escorted her alone to loss prevention office where he sexually assaulted and then raped her. After the assault, the defendant walked the victim to the surveillance room where he showed her the cameras and explained he had been watching her for quite some time. He told her not to tell anyone about the incident and he would not report her to the police. She got on a bus to Beaverton where she contacted a transit officer to report the rape. Police identify the defendant by talking to Rite Aid management about who was on duty and by reviewing video footage. She eventually separated from the case because of life circumstances and the case went cold. .
In October 2021, Detective Irvine picked up the case through the SAKI (sexual assault kit initiative) grant. He got in contact with Stotts who gave another account that was largely consistent. Irvine reviews the video footage in depth and identifies the defendant and victim going to the LPO office and then the surveillance room. They are in the office for over 20 minutes. Records from Rite-Aid show that the defendant had stopped the victim in two prior instances and wrote reports for those contacts, however, no report was written for this lengthy interaction during the assault. Irvine learns the defendant would have been in violation of policy by being alone with a female in the office and by not writing a report.
Eventually, enough evidence was gained to bring an indictment and trial.
Cassinelli faces a mandatory minimum of 100 months in prison. Sentencing is set for July 11, 2025.
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