Dad angry over daughter’s rape beats college administrator with bat, Oregon cops say

An Oregon man has been arrested after beating a University of Portland official with a baseball bat over how his daughter’s sexual assault case was handled by the school, according to police.

Patrick Ell, 52, was waiting outside of Matthew Rygg’s home in Portland on Dec. 13. When Rygg walked outside, Ell pummeled him multiple times with a baseball bat, police say. Rygg had to get 18 staples on his scalp and told the police that he had been chased down the street and thought Ell was trying to kill him.

Rygg was hospitalized and later released, according to the Washington Post.

Rygg is the Associate Vice President for Student Development at the University of Portland. When police interviewed him, Rygg said that he and Ell have known each other for three years and that Ell had been sending him Facebook messages and emails. Ell, who once worked at the university, was angry at him and the University of Portland for how they handled the sexual assault allegations brought forth by his daughter Clara.

The university conducted an investigation and found the allegations “lack merit,” according to court records. Ell left the school as a result of the findings of the investigation.

Ell has been charged with felony second-degree assault, according to court records. He was taken to Multnomah County Detention Center and released on $250,000 bail. He’s also been banned from all university property and events, according to The Beacon.

Clara appealed the university’s ruling, which found the alleged perpetrator “not responsible,” but the university upheld the decision, according to Catholic Sentinel. Clara has criticized how the university handled the investigation.

On Sept. 30, 2016 after a night of drinking, Clara says she was raped by a male classmate in her dorm room, according to the Catholic Sentinel.

The university determined that Clara had not been “intoxicated to the point of incapacitation” on the night in question, according to Clara’s account of the hearing process on The Beacon. It also said that her conduct that night was “consistent with her past physical contact with the other student.”

Ell is due to appear back in court on Dec. 31, according to Oregon Live.

This story was originally published December 18, 2019 at 1:47 PM with the headline "Dad angry over daughter’s rape beats college administrator with bat, Oregon cops say."