UPDATED: Parent Voices Concern Over Accused Nonconsensual Groping of Underage Attendees at Portland All-Ages Concert

UPDATE: The Mercury has received another letter, this one from a teenage girl who also attended the aforementioned Danny Brown show earlier this week:

I’m a 17-year-old girl who was also nonconsensually groped by two different men at the Danny Brown show the other night. I felt absolutely sick to my stomach when I read the article about the 14 year old who was also groped, and realized that these men had been targeting multiple underage girls throughout the night.

The show was packed, and some accidental inappropriate touching is expected, however, what I experienced could not be interpreted as accidental touching in any way. The first guy, I’m not sure if the two knew each other, put his hands around my waist multiple times, even when I kept moving away, but he seemed to get the hint when I elbowed him and found my friends. However, the second man who groped me was far more aggressive than the first one; he looked to be in his late twenties or early thirties. He repeatedly put his hands around my waist and tried to grind against my ass. I very clearly was not interested and tried to elbow him, which did nothing to deter him, but it was so crammed that I initially couldn’t move and was just stuck there in front of him.

Once the crowd broke up a little bit and I was able to get away from him, I thought that I would be done with his gross bullshit; this was true only until the end of Danny Brown’s set, when he made a reappearance and proceeded to resume with putting his hands around my waist. I kept moving away from him yet this seemed to only exacerbate his disgusting behavior. He grabbed my ass and started to move his hands around to the front of my jeans, at which point I elbowed him hard as fuck and made a speedy getaway to my friends and left.

Anyway, it’s super fucked that this happened and that multiple underage girls were targeted. The show was great besides that whole ordeal, and I hope somebody finds out who those creepy pieces of shit are.

Original post, first published Oct 6

Following last night’s Danny Brown show at the Roseland, which was part of the Mercury‘s All-Ages Action! concert series, we received a letter from a concerned parent, who wishes to remain anonymous:

I saw the Danny Brown show last night in Portland with my two boys, youngest son (14), oldest (15), and we brought a girl friend who is also 14 years old. This was her first concert. I assured her grandma she would be ok… I’ve taken my boys to all-ages shows at the Roseland before. The staff always does a great job and is watchful for most things, like drugs and violence. Yes, my kids are young… Yes, they are exposed to many new things, some not so great… But that is all part of the experience. And let’s be real here… Hip-hop packs a punch. Danny Brown is raw.

I am writing this because it is my duty as a parent to let you know what happened, so that [the Roseland’s] security guards, event staff, booking agents, and others involved are more aware. My son’s female friend (14 years old) was repeatedly groped by two men in their mid-30s. She pointed them out to me after the show as they headed to a parking lot. My youngest boy protected her durying the concert, but they kept following her and grabbing her. As the kids moved closer to a guard, these two men stopped and went after her friend! She was also assaulted. I unfortunately did not see this happen, but do trust my kids. This felt like borderline sexual assault, because these guys were targeting her and were aggressive.

I am 45. These guys seemed about mid-30s and were white males. In their pack of four, two of them were aggressive, but one, as I was told, was relentless. I am very frustrated that these guys were able to get away with this, and that they had the opportunity. I told our young friend that if that ever happens again, she needs to tell a security guard or an adult. I explained this to my two boys as well. These guys were grabbing her breasts and butt while she was dancing. Rap shows can get heated, I know. Lyrics are about hoes and bitches and whatnot… But our friend is 14 years old.

This show was billed as all-ages, and was sponsored by the Portland Mercury as part of their all-ages series. My feeling is that this type of advertising might attract perv assholes like these two guys. These guys were obviously taking advantage of this girl’s age and her inexperience in dealing with this shit. Had this happened in front of me, these assholes would be in jail or the hospital. Sometimes we learn the hard way… I get it, but in matters of children and sexual abuse, I will not tolerate.

Perhaps adults should not be let into the underage area, if this is the type of layout at the Roseland. If it’s a youth-friendly show, kids need to be able to dance and have a good time without older preditors stalking them. This was a hard conversation to have with [the girl’s] grandmother. Also, the second floor balcony was not open? This forced all the adults into the 21+ area, which got pretty crowded. So much more room in the under-21 area where these fuckers went! Try that shit in the 21+ side and watch your ass get bounced.

Please, consider what I am telling you. It is all of our responsibility to protect kids, specially young girls. She shouldn’t have been subjected to this type of shitty physical/sexual abuse. If there is a way to stop this from happening again, it would benefit all of the businesses and venues that support youth music.

There are guys in your clubs targeting young girls at all-ages shows… Please be aware and help out. Tell your guards… Post signs… Do something!

Kathy Goranson of the Roseland responded to our request for comment: “The Roseland Theater has zero tolerance for this type of conduct. If security had been notified the offenders would have, at the very least, been photographed and 86’d from the venue; more likely, the police would have been called. We had 13 security in bright yellow shirts (in order to be easily seen) who would have reacted immediately.”

Mike Thrasher Presents, the show’s promoter, responded via Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/MikeThrasherPresents/posts/1290692737661178

The Mercury would like to spread awareness of these types of incidents, which are 100 percent NOT okay—so if you have something you’d like to share, even anonymously, please contact us at music@portlandmercury.com.