Callahan ruled in favor of the woman following that three-day hearing, which concluded April 26.

In her 13-page ruling, Callahan said she found Stout, a Columbia City Republican representing House District 31, “not credible” and the woman “extremely credible.”

In the hearings, the woman alleged Stout touched her in a sexual manner on multiple occasions without consent and threatened her if she spoke up.

According to her, in 2020 — while Stout, the Republican nominee for HD 31 in 2018, 2020 and 2022, was running for state representative — she became his close friend and confidant. She said the two agreed to have an intimate, though not explicitly physical, relationship.

Stout then reportedly threatened her, saying, “By the way, if you ever tell anyone about this, we will walk to Multnomah Falls, and I will push you over the cliff.”

The relationship turned acrimonious, the woman testified, after Stout repeatedly touched her and initiated sexual encounters without her consent, and in some cases, after she had told him no.

Stout denied the abusive conduct. He claimed the woman initiated a consensual sexual encounter in 2020 but the physical relationship went no further than that.

Callahan noted that Stout alleged that the woman “had to be dragged off his wife twice,” stalked him and his family, and was openly aggressive to him in public situations.

Callahan found Stout’s first allegation not credible, as testimony from other witnesses did not validate the alleged plaintiff’s behavior toward Stout’s wife.

Callahan also found Stout’s accusations that the woman stalked him and his family, based on him and others seeing her at a park near a home Stout was having built, not credible.

This behavior led the woman to be “concerned for her safety,” Callahan added.

According to the ruling, the court only needed to be convinced of a single incident of abuse by a “preponderance of evidence.”

Per her ruling, the woman and witnesses sufficiently showed Callahan that Stout had abused the woman and created a reasonable fear for her safety.

“With respect to the element of fear, the witness testimony indicated the Respondent has been aggressive or forceful with other individuals,” Callahan wrote.

The woman testified that she had heard Stout threaten her, giving her a “reasonable fear that Respondent would continue to harass and retaliate,” Callahan wrote.

The judge came to the conclusion Stout did sexually abuse the woman and then “switched to playing the victim,” she wrote.

Callahan also dismissed Stout’s claim that the woman had “orchestrated a scheme to falsely accuse him of (his admitted) inappropriate behavior,” as the judge put it, in order to force a vacancy in the office of state representative and enable her to become the new representative’s legislative aide.

“The Court does not find this argument justifiable in any manner,” Callahan wrote.

“While always respectful of the judicial process, I strongly disagree with the recent ruling on the hearing and am currently spending some time in review,” Stout stated Wednesday, May 10.

“Additional conversations and reflection with my family and community will be ongoing over the next few days and following weeks.”

House Speaker Dan Rayfield and other House Democrats called on Stout this week to resign after Callahan upheld the restraining order.

If Stout does not complete his two-year term, it will be up to Columbia, Washington, Multnomah and Yamhill county commissioners to appoint a replacement. Under state law, they would have to appoint another Republican.