Jefferson County law enforcement officials have investigated an embattled Madras attorney on allegations that he raped a woman in April, according to the county sheriff and records filed in the Oregon Supreme Court.

William Ellison “Billy” Carl, 46, has been arrested six times since June 2022 for allegedly disregarding court orders that he stay away from the woman, but has been conditionally released again and again, according to 15-page order signed Aug. 11 by Mark Turner, an adjudicator for the Oregon State Bar Disciplinary Board.

Carl was not in jail in Deschutes or Jefferson counties on Friday, jail rosters show.

Representing himself in court, he is already facing misdemeanor charges of violating a stalking order and possessing 2.5 grams of methamphetamine in Deschutes County, according to court records. He denies the rape allegations, according to court records.

Meanwhile, the Oregon State Bar Disciplinary Board on Aug. 11 suspended Carl’s license to practice law while disciplinary charges against him are still pending, according to the Aug. 11 order signed by Turner. His suspension is effective Aug. 28.

The state bar can pursue such action if “we believe there is a significant threat of public harm by a lawyer’s continued practice of law,” said Kateri Walsh, director of communications for the bar.

The state bar files formal charges against roughly 60 of the state’s 15,000 licensed lawyers annually, Walsh said. In 2022, it filed just two petitions to suspend a lawyer’s license while their case was still pending.

Carl’s is the first this year, according to Dustin Dopps, a communications specialist for the state bar.

Madras attorney arrested

Madras lawyer arrested twice in one day

The state bar’s allegations

The Aug. 11 order describes a range of misconduct allegations against Carl, who has worked in civil, family and criminal law in Crook and Jefferson counties and has been practicing law since the early 2000s.

He has failed to appear for clients’ court appearances four times between late February and early May this year, records show.

And despite entering an agreement years ago with the State Lawyers Assistance Committee — which investigates complaints around lawyers whose work may be affected by addiction — he has been accused of failing to comply with its terms, missing treatment appointments, relapsing and failing to report an interaction with law enforcement.

Carl did not return a phone call and an email with questions from The Bulletin.

The woman at the center of the case is Katie Garrett, 38, whom Carl once represented in a divorce case and who worked as his legal assistant.

The two previously had a romantic relationship.

The Bulletin does not name victims of alleged sex crimes.

But Garrett, who has spoken out in the past about Carl, told a reporter Friday that she wanted to share her name publicly to raise awareness around the plight and needed resources for alleged victims of crimes.

“I’m not scared,” she said . “My safety has been in jeopardy since day one … I’m probably more protected if my name is in there than if it is not.”

Garrett is currently facing felony charges of first-degree criminal mischief, burglary and theft in Deschutes County, according to court records.

Garrett said she was bailed out of the Deschutes County jail Thursday. She declined to say who bailed her out.

The state bar order says that on April 18 Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office Corporal Tyler Anderson responded to a reported “sexual assault in progress” at “the gravel pits,” which is “used by many as a location where they could fire their guns.”

Wearing a body camera that captured the incident, Anderson arrived and found Carl but not Garrett, according to records that refer to her using her married name, Dundom.

Carl “falsely denied seeing or being with” Garrett, “even though her car was parked next to his,” according to the records.

Anderson could see a pistol on the passenger seat of Carl’s Toyota 4Runner, according to court records. Carl reportedly told Anderson it was the only gun in his possession.

Lawyer accused of violating stalking order

Madras attorney faces charges of methamphetamine possession, violating stalking order

Then, sheriff’s deputy Ben Toops arrived and found Garrett lying in the back of Carl’s vehicle, “naked and partially covered by a blanket, contrary to (Carl’s) statements to Corporal Anderson,” according to court records.

“Deputy Toops also discovered a rifle lying in the back of the vehicle,” according to court records.

The order states that the Jefferson County District Attorney’s Office is investigating rape allegations stemming from this incident. Carl has not been charged with any alleged sex crimes.

Jefferson County Sheriff Jason Pollock told The Bulletin Thursday that he was aware of the case and confirmed that police investigated the rape allegations.

He couldn’t elaborate on the current status of the case.

“We have nothing to add at this point,” Jefferson County District Attorney Steve Leriche said in an email responding to questions from The Bulletin.

Prior discipline

The suspension is the latest action against Carl, who has been disciplined by the bar multiple times in the past.

He has twice been convicted of endangering the welfare of a minor, in 2009 and again in 2011, according to court records. He has also been disciplined for mishandling client payments and having a relationship with Garrett.

Recently, he’s come under additional scrutiny after a former client complained to the state bar that he “drank to the point of intoxication” during a 10 a.m. breakfast the day before a Josephine County trial.

He told a prosecutor later that day that he wouldn’t be able to attend the trial, and later filed a letter with the court that this “was due to a misunderstanding,” according to court records.

The bar is investigating his former client’s complaint, according to court records.

Carl also didn’t show up for a Jefferson County court proceeding in a case about a stalking protective order, according to court records.

The proceeding was scheduled to day after a warrant was issued for Carl’s arrest.

“The proceeding went forward without (Carl) present, and the court upheld the (stalking protective order) against his client,” according to court records.

Carl’s plea hearing for the misdemeanor charges of violating a stalking order and possessing methamphetamine is scheduled for Aug. 31.