A 35-year-old woman with a history of mental illness and drug use was sentenced this week in Washington County Circuit Court to 7 1/2 years in prison for a horrifying assault last year on her quadriplegic roommate.

Michel L. Roper pleaded guilty Thursday to first-degree assault and received the mandatory minimum sentence under Measure 11.

Roper was convicted of assaulting Faron Wickey, 63, in May 2018 in the victim’s Beaverton apartment. Roper gouged Wickey’s eyes, cut off one of his testicles and crushed his chest, according to court records.

Roper did not make a statement in court. Her attorney, Cam Taylor, declined to comment Friday.

Wickey was paralyzed in a sledding accident at age 21. He died in April from complications unrelated to the assault. His sister attended the sentencing hearing and did not address the court.

Early on in the case, Wickey requested that Roper not be sentenced to prison due to her mental health history.

“The victim believed this was a mental health issue with the defendant,” said Bracken McKey, a chief deputy district attorney in Washington County.

“At the end of the day, we made the decision we made because of the heinousness of the crime,” McKey said.

After the assault, Wickey was discovered by Zachary Hilgart, an Oregon Department of Human Services caregiver, who told police he checked on Wickey every three days, according to court records. The state worker told police he found Wickey’s face covered in blood.

When Washington County Sheriff’s Deputy Michael MacKenzie responded, Wickey said Roper had attacked him, according to court records. She was found in a bedroom, blood on her socks and pants. She was arrested at the scene.

Wickey told police that he’d known Roper since 2009 and that she had previously worked as his caregiver. In 2016, Roper was convicted of assaulting Wickey and was sent to the Oregon State Hospital.

Two weeks before the assault she was kicked out of a relative’s house because she was “having delusions,” according to an affidavit written by Washington County Sheriff’s Detective Bradley Verboort.

Wickey allowed Roper to move in with him and she continued to have delusions and was “acting psychotic,” according to the affidavit.

During the attack, Wickey said Roper was “delusional, angry and hearing voices,” the affidavit said.

-- Noelle Crombie

503-276-7184

ncrombie@oregonian.com

@noellecrombie

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