Whitney M. Woodworth

Statesman Journal

A convicted sex offender named Avril Lavigne was arrested in Salem again on Friday on suspicion of breaking into a Salem home and trespassing at several residences near downtown and Willamette University.

Lavigne, 31, has previously made Portland headlines for his unusual name — he legally changed it from Romany Mesina to Avril Lavigne in 2014 — and for following and photographing young women with his phone.

He was arrested in Salem on April 23 on trespassing charges and later released.

He was arrested again on Sunday on outstanding warrants by a Salem police officer. While taking him into custody, the officer learned Lavigne was a suspect in the burglary of a home on the 400 block of 17th St. NE.

A probable cause statement filed in Marion County stated the following:

A man reported to police that someone had broken into his unoccupied residence on 17th Street and stayed there for less than a week.

The man had checked on the home a week earlier and nothing was out of place, but when he returned seven days later, he discovered someone had broken in, slept there and even baked a lasagna in his oven.

The investigating officer went to the home and discovered someone had entered the residence by taking a key from an outside lock box.

The officer also found jail paperwork belonging to Lavigne inside the home.

When Lavigne was taken into custody, he had a gold-colored key in his pants pocket. The officer tested the key on the door of the home on 17th Street. It matched.

Lavigne was arrested on charges of first-degree burglary and three counts of second-degree trespassing.

He was convicted of attempted rape of a minor in 2009 and ordered to register as a sex offender. Since then, he's been arrested multiple times in Multnomah County on charges of theft, reckless burning, resisting arrest, criminal trespassing and failing to register as a sex offender.

In May 2016, a Portland mother contacted police after she came home to find Lavigne sitting on her front porch while her 16-year-old daughter was home alone, according to a report by KATU. Portland police said they suspected Lavigne was taking photos of young women and girls and posting them online.

He was convicted of failing to register as a sex offender in July 2016 and sentenced to probation.

Following his arrest on Friday, Lavigne was taken to Marion County jail. At his arraignment Monday, Judge Rafael Caso set Lavigne's bail at $43,000 and ordered him to have no contact with his five victims.

He is scheduled to appear in court again on May 10 at 8:30 a.m.

For questions, comments and news tips, email reporter Whitney Woodworth at wmwoodwort@statesmanjournal.com, call 503-399-6884 or follow on Twitter @wmwoodworth