Portland teen was asked if he was ‘pervy’ and sent child SA videos from older dating app match. Now he is headed to jail for answering with a knife

A Portland teenager who stabbed a man he met on a dating app is now serving a five-year prison sentence. Elijah Cruz Valenzuela, who was 19 at the time of the incident, turned himself in to the authorities immediately after the altercation, claiming he was acting against a predator.

According to The New York Post, the events unfolded on the evening of August 11, 2025. Valenzuela arrived at the apartment of 46-year-old Joshua Field with the initial intent to confront him. Valenzuela told police that he had met Field on the dating app Sniffies, where he alleged that Field sent him videos depicting child sex abuse. Valenzuela claimed these messages were quickly removed by the platform’s moderators.

According to a police report, Valenzuela stated that Field invited him over to watch videos, but then began “inquiring if Valenzuela was ‘pervy’ and if he was interested in younger guys.” Valenzuela later told authorities that despite his intention to only confront Field,  he suddenly grabbed a knife and drove it into Field’s chest. Valenzuela then called 911 and surrendered to the police in the building’s lobby. Body camera footage captured him telling officers, “I stabbed a pedophile.”

The dangerous one

The aftermath of this encounter has been complex for all parties involved. Valenzuela pleaded guilty to first-degree assault and first-degree burglary on August 21, 2026, but Field has faced his own legal scrutiny. Although Field was not charged with any crimes in Oregon, The Oregonian reported that he was charged by prosecutors in California nine months after the stabbing for possessing videos of child sexual abuse. Field pleaded not guilty to those charges.

Public records obtained by The Oregonian show that Portland police had previously investigated Field twice in 2021 after two other men reported that he had shown them child pornography after meeting on the dating app Grindr. However, those investigations were closed due to a lack of evidence. Detective Jonathan Richardson noted that the accounts of Field’s behavior were “extremely concerning,” but he couldn’t contact the witnesses or victims, and Field refused to be interviewed.

During his sentencing hearing, Valenzuela’s public defender, Josh McCain, reportedly argued that his client was triggered into action by a variety of factors. McCain stated, “Mr. Valenzuela was diagnosed with Bipolar II (disorder), had not taken his medication at that time of the incident and — based upon some of the traumatic events of his life, being sexually abused — he was triggered in that moment to act as he had.”

Per The Oregonian, Valenzuela addressed the court directly, expressing remorse for his actions. “I was at my worst and ended up completely unmedicated, which put me in the worst manic and psychotic episode I’d ever experienced in my life,” he said. “I was isolated, unwell, and I’d been triggered. A chord had been struck so deep, and I snapped.” He also emphasized that he believed he was doing the right thing by calling for help and turning himself in after the incident.

The prosecution, however, reportedly maintained that vigilante justice is not something the legal system can support. Prosecutor Sam Wilton told the judge, “In that moment, he made himself both the judge and the jury. We can’t be a society where someone convicts another person of a crime in their mind and then gets to punish that person in the way that they deem appropriate.” Wilton added, “That’s, of course, vigilante justice. That cannot be tolerated.”

Field’s lawyer, Stuart Kirchick, denied the allegations brought forward by Valenzuela regarding the possession or distribution of illicit material. In an email to The Oregonian, Kirchick stated that his client denies the claims made by Valenzuela, whom he described as “a convicted felon,” and urged the media not to print his client’s name because Field “is a victim of a very violent assault.”

Judge Christopher Marshall ultimately sentenced Valenzuela to five years in prison. The outlet noted that Marshall did leave open the possibility that the time served could be reduced to just over three years. That is contingent on Valenzuela’s participation in an alternative incarceration program and maintenance of good behavior. 

The Oregonian reported that Portland police have stated that they still have an open investigation into the claims that Field possessed child pornography in Oregon and are asking for any information to be sent to their child abuse detectives.