Convicted pedophile accused of plowing through Portland parade in truck

The driver of a pickup truck that sped erratically down the Rose Festival's Grand Floral Parade route in Portland, Oregon on Saturday is a registered sex offender with multiple prior convictions of sexual abuse.

Sidney Sean Mecham, 42, a homosexual male, was arrested and booked into Multnomah County Detention Center at 11:23 am Saturday on felony and misdemeanor charges that include evading police, reckless driving, second-degree disorderly conduct, recklessly endangering another person, and failure to perform duties of a driver after causing property damage, according to Oregonian.

Mecham is accused of allegedly plowing past the parade blockade in his silver pickup truck, gunning down the parade route toward pedestrians, and refusing to follow police orders.



"He hopped on the curb, and he pressed on his gas so fast," Areff Mohammed Ali told the outlet, who witnessed the incident unfold with his family.

"I thought he was trying to ram into people, aiming to kill someone because there was no reason for him to go past the two barriers," Ali said.

The witness, who was seated on the curb of the parade route with his wife Jessica, 3-year-old daughter, and one-year-old son, told the outlet that he reportedly watched Mecham speed past the blockade and maneuver around several state transportation vehicles that were blocking access to the route.

"Once I heard the squealing of tires, I thought, 'What is that?'" Ali recalled, who began to hold onto his small children with his wife.

"He seemed like he was in a road rage, angry at the blockage," Ali said. "I'm glad there was a police officer able to see everything…to see how aggressive the driver was."

Portland police Officer David Baer attempted to pull over Mecham on his motorcycle but Mecham refused to follow the orders and continued down the parade route. Baer said that he pulled his motorcycle in front of the truck to warn pedestrians to get out of the way. Mecham then attempted to ram his motorcycle, forcing Officer Baer to get out of the way, according to police.

The Portland Police Department said that Mecham drove "directly toward families seated on the curb waiting for the parade, ran through another barricade, causing volunteers to scatter to avoid getting struck."

Mecham finally came to a stop at Northeast 24th and Clackamas Street with the help of a police plane flying overhead. He was arrested and booked into Multnomah County Detention Center, according to police.

Sidney Mecham is a registered sex offender who last registered in Oregon in February, providing an address in Southeast Portland.

According to state records, Mecham was convicted in 1999 for attempted first-degree rape and first-degree sodomy in Multnomah County. He was also convicted in 2016 on charges of third-degree sodomy and third-degree sexual abuse in Clatsop County.

In 1999, Mecham, who was 15 years old at the time, sexually abused minor boys and was sentenced to serve a three-year prison sentence at MacLaren Youth Correctional Institution at age 17.

Mecham was ordered to register as a sex offender and not frequent places or work anywhere where children congregate, such as playgrounds, schools and swimming pools, according to Oregonian. However, Mecham violated his probation orders, which included "not be in a car with minor boys" and "not to contact relatives of his victim," and he was sentenced to serve another 3 years and two months prison sentence in 2003.

In 2016, Mecham sexually abused a 16-year-old boy and was sentenced to two years and four months in prison while living in Warrenton, court records show.

Mecham will be arraigned Monday at 2 pm in Multnomah County Circuit Court.