Man sentenced to 35 years for long time sexual abuse of adolescent stepdaughter
According to the Multnomah County District Attorney's Office, on Friday, Zenn Matthew Vicknair was sentenced to 420 months in prison for abuse that began when his stepdaughter was 9.
Officials said the abuse was pervasive throughout his stepdaughter's life, including when the family moved to Renton, Washington, in 2012.
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'Vicknair stepped into the victim's need for love and affection and filled it with pervasive, almost normalized sexual abuse for years of her young life – destroying her sense of self and the bonds of her family,' a statement from the Multnomah County DA said.
The sexual abuse was first reported in 2016 when the victim's mother called the Department of Human Services after her daughter, who was 15 at the time, reported the ongoing sexual contact.
After Vicknair attempted suicide and began experiencing seizures, authorities said that the victim withdrew the allegations during a therapy session.
In 2021, the case was reopened when the victim contacted law enforcement because she was worried about her younger brother's welfare.
Eventually, in 2024, Vicknair was convicted on two counts of first-degree unlawful sexual penetration, two counts of first-degree sodomy, and five counts of first-degree sex abuse.
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In a statement, Multnomah County Senior Deputy District Attorney Robin Skarstad, who prosecuted the case, said that Vicknair's sentencing is an acknowledgement of his years of sexual abuse and the hope that the verdict can bring some peace to the victim.
'The 35-year sentence is an acknowledgement of the repeated instances of egregious sexual abuse committed by the defendant against the most vulnerable of victims. We are so grateful for the strength this now young woman showed in seeking justice and safety for our community and hope that this verdict brings her some peace.'
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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