Neil Goldschmidt, former Oregon governor who sexually abused teen, dead at 83

Neil Goldschmidt, Oregon’s former governor whose legacy in federal, statewide and local offices was later disgraced when it was revealed he repeatedly sexually abused a teen girl starting in the 1970s, has died. He was 83.

The Oregonian/OregonLive was the first to report his death from heart failure on Wednesday. His family confirmed his death to KOIN 6 News in a statement.

Goldschmidt served as Portland’s mayor from 1973 to 1979. He became U.S. Secretary of Transportation in 1979 under President Jimmy Carter. He returned to Oregon politics in 1985 to launch his gubernatorial candidacy, succeeding Republican Gov. Vic Atiyeh after winning the governor’s race in 1986, before leaving the office in 1991.

It was while serving as mayor that Goldschmidt began raping a 14-year-old girl, which he later confessed to publicly in 2004 in a letter in the Oregonian as Willamette Week prepared to publish an exposé.

KOIN 6 News is a partner of the Pamplin Media Group. Find the original story here .