Police: Sex offender asking women to 'kick him in the groin'

By KATU Staff Published: Oct 31, 2012 at 8:23 PM PDT Last Updated: Nov 1, 2012 at 7:02 AM PDT

PORTLAND, Ore. -- Police in Portland say a convicted sex offender is using Craigslist to find women willing to repeatedly "kick him in the groin."

Brandon James Clifford, a registered sex offender, has been placing ads on Craiglist across the country. In the ads, he says he's looking for a specific type of woman. In ads posted in Portland, Salt Lake City, Richmond and Boston, Clifford writes that he's looking for women with strong legs, such as soccer players or kick boxers.

The ads say he wants help teaching self-defense to college-age women, but police say he actually uses the woman for "a violent form of sexual gratification where they kick him in the groin."

Clifford has stayed one step ahead of the law in part by only posting ads in cities where he doesn't live. Instead, police say he flies in to meet his victims.

However, it was his recent interest in Portland - he's tried twice now to find victims here - that has him back on the radar. A woman who saw the ad grew suspicious and contacted Portland police to cooperate in a sting operation.

The woman, who asked to not be identified to protect her privacy, said she thought she was pursuing a job opportunity when she saw the ad asking for female soccer players to teach self-defense classes. She messaged the man offering the job.

"He asked me if I was comfortable repeatedly kicking and he referenced the groin," she said. "I said 'Yeah, it shouldn't be a problem, but I mean, it's terrible for you. At least you guys are wearing pads, right?' And he responded with 'Oh no, we're trained to take it.'"

She said his response threw her for a loop. Still, she said Clifford arranged to meet her and five other women at the Jim Dandy's restaurant in Portland on Monday. They were then going to begin the "training" at a nearby Quality Inn.

"He also mentioned was I up for the challenge to kick him in the groin to send him to the ground, because anyone who does is paid higher," she said.

The woman and a friend got suspicious and did an online search. That's when they found news reports about Clifford, including one from the New York Post in 2001 about a "federal immigration agent from New York who admitted to trying to lure a 15-year-old girl to a motel to help him act out a violent sexual fantasy."

Clifford was arrested when he showed up to her middle school, according to news reports.

Police in Portland said Clifford flies around the country to act out his fantasy.

Officers confronted him at the Quality Inn while he was beginning warm-ups with the five unsuspecting women. They said if he stays in Oregon more than 24 days he must register as a sex offender.

"He was going to a lot of effort to do whatever he wants to do," the woman said. "Whether that's just being kicked in the groin or whether he has worse motivations, I don't want to think about it."