Jared Walter, a 31-year-old man convicted or implicated in nearly two dozen instances of cutting, gluing or ejaculating into women’s hair on TriMet buses for nearly a decade, has served his jail time and is no longer barred from riding public transit.

Walter, known as the TriMet Barber for his slew of crimes in the Portland area dating to 2009, had been placed on probation for five years in March as part of the terms of his conviction for a May 2017 incident during which he cut off a woman’s hair in Washington County while on a TriMet bus.

Those requirements also stipulated Walter couldn’t own or possess any “sexually stimulating visual or auditory materials that are relevant to the defendant’s deviant behaviors.” He also couldn’t ride TriMet buses or light rail trains.

But those requirements are no longer in effect, according to Washington County officials, and TriMet is powerless to prevent him from riding.

Walter was released on time served for the 2017 hair-cutting crime, meaning he is free to ride TriMet again, despite the fact he violated his probation terms and has been rearrested several times recently.

Walter was arrested July 5 for violating the terms of his release after he was found with a TriMet ticket in his pocket.

According to the Washington County Sheriff’s Office, he has been arrested three subsequent times since then. His probation was revoked Nov. 14 after he failed to report to his supervising officer, records show. But he was released from the Washington County jail Nov. 20 because of time served.

Those recent arrests can’t legally affect TriMet’s ability to ban Walter, a registered sex offender.

“There are no longer any probation requirements,” said Rashel Greer, a deputy Washington County District Attorney. He also has no conditions on his release or pending charges from the recent arrests, according to prosecutors.

Walter’s 2017 arrest sparked TriMet’s board to take unprecedented action, giving its general manager the power to ban riders for longer than six months if the person had committed “a serious physical offense” while on the system. First-time offenders could be banned for six months to one year, while second offenses could garner more than a year or a permanent ban.

Jared Walter pictured in a recent booking photo

“This did stem from the case of Jared Walter,” TriMet spokeswoman Roberta Altstadt said at the time.

The rules carved out an exception for first-time offenders to receive a harsher punishment if the passenger posed an “poses an immediate and serious threat to the safety of TriMet riders and employees.” According to TriMet’s rules, that means the person “committed a sexual assault, committed an assault that resulted in serious injury or death, or used a weapon to injury another person” while on the TriMet system.

Altstadt said the agency was made aware of Walter’s updated status by Multnomah County officials recently.

“Because he is permitted to ride, we are not distributing his photograph to operators,” she said in a statement. “Operators are trained to report any incidents of a serious nature.”

When asked about the TriMet exclusion, Altstadt said, “Like any other ordinance or law, it does not apply retroactively.”

Walter, who according to court records is homeless, could not be reached for comment. His most recent court-appointed attorney had no additional information about his whereabouts or whether Walter was required to participate in any post jail release programs in lieu of jail time.

It’s not the first time Walter had been barred from riding TriMet. In May 2013, after he pleaded guilty to masturbating into the hair of three women on TriMet buses, Walter received a similar five-year ban.

“I’m sorry that I hurt a lot of people -- the victims, my family, myself," he said at the time. “I want help. I just don’t know how to get it.”

Walter was released from jail in December 2014. He was arrested the next January.

-- Andrew Theen

atheen@oregonian.com

503-294-4026

@andrewtheen