Clatsop County Circuit Court Judge Cindee Matyas convicted a Seaside man Wednesday afternoon on seven charges stemming from the January 2007 assault on a family member.

Matyas found James Mason Schlappie, 27, guilty of two counts of first-degree attempted rape and one count each of first-degree sodomy, first-degree sexual abuse, first-degree unlawful sexual penetration, menacing and fourth-degree assault. Matyas acquitted Schlappie of an attempted murder charge brought following the same assault.

He will be sentenced after an April 30 hearing to determine if there were aggravating factors in the crime, which would increase his sentence.

Clatsop County Chief Deputy District Attorney Ron Brown said he is seeking a 40-year prison sentence for Schlappie.

His two-day trial began Tuesday, in Clatsop County Courtroom 100.

Astoria attorney Don Haller represented Schlappie, who had pleaded “not guilty” to all the charges, and indicated that he would seek the insanity defense. Schlappie waived the right to a trial by jury last week, setting the scene for Matyas to decide whether Schlappie was guilty or not. In Oregon, a person can be found not guilty but for insanity if they “lack capacity” – were unable to understand that what they were doing was a crime – or if they had a mental illness that prevented them from controlling their behavior.

Schlappie was convicted of indecent liberties in 1999 as a teenager, after assaulting the same victim. After that conviction, he served 12 months of juvenile community supervision.

In his closing argument, Brown argued that Schlappie “wanted to celebrate.” He’d found out earlier that he was going to be allowed to live independently, he’d negotiated a deal to get his bicycle back from a repair shop, and he’d gone to his father’s house to drink.

“His whole goal was to celebrate – to drink, smoke some marijuana, look for sexual gratification,” Brown said.

Schlappie’s victim resisted, enraging him, and he tried to smother her, Brown argued.

Haller replied that there was little evidence to show that a murder was attempted. He said Schlappie was doing nothing more than trying to get the victim to be quiet that night.

But the burden was on him to prove that his client was insane.

He argued that sane people don’t forcibly rape family members – particularly out of the blue.

“This is beyond the usual – this is really bizarre,” Haller said. “The man is clearly insane, and clearly mental illness disorder qualifies.”

Sure Schlappie has mental illness, Brown responded, but how much had he contributed to that illness. Brown argued that Schlappie had the support of family, but chose to be on his own, not take his prescription medications and to use street drugs.

“I think there was certainly plenty of evidence to show (Schlappie) did not lack capacity. He knew before the crime occurred, during the crime and after the crime he was doing something wrong,” Matyas said.

She continued, saying there was evidence that showed Schlappie had been able to control his behavior through the years. She said he’d cooperated with treatment, lived independently, taken prescription medications and refrained from alcohol or illegal drugs while taking his prescriptions. She said that when he was being held in the jail, he’d “refined his behavior to avoid Taser use.”

Matyas said Schlappie’s efforts to subdue the victim – holding a pillow over her head without killing her, wrestling with her over the phone to prevent her from calling for help, holding his hand over her mouth, telling her to stop screaming and telling her to touch him in such a way as to arouse him – were “very aware activities.”

She did not find that evidence proved that Schlappie was guilty but for insanity.

“I do find that he was very much in control of his behavior at the time of the crime,” Matyas said.