Jeffrey Buckmeyer was never charged after the 2018 report led to an FBI search.
TIGARD, Ore. — An Oregon jury ordered Target to pay $150,000 to the estate of Jeffrey Buckmeyer after finding that a store worker’s report about images on his iPhone caused serious emotional harm.
The Multnomah County verdict ended a long civil fight over a 2018 encounter at a Target electronics counter in Tigard. Buckmeyer had gone to the store for help freeing storage on his phone. A worker later told Target staff and police that he saw illegal images involving children. Federal agents searched Buckmeyer’s home and devices. Investigators found no such material, and Buckmeyer was never arrested or charged.
The estate’s lawsuit said the report wrongly marked Buckmeyer as a person linked to child sexual abuse material and damaged his life before his death in April 2019. Patricia Anselmo, the personal representative for the estate, continued the case after Buckmeyer died of cardiac arrest. Anselmo told reporters the accusation left him with a stigma he could not escape. “He was labeled a demon,” she said. Attorney Michael Fuller, who represented the estate, said the verdict carried meaning beyond the money. “Seven years ago I promised Jeff that I’d see his case through,” Fuller said. “Last week we fulfilled my promise and we thank the jury for its service.”
The case began on July 24, 2018, when Buckmeyer went to a Target store on Southwest Hall Boulevard near Washington Square mall. Court records say he asked for technical help with an iPhone 6S and wanted to delete a large folder of business photos. The worker, identified in appellate records as McGee, said he saw an album with images of naked children and images of Buckmeyer. The worker did not confront Buckmeyer at the counter. After Buckmeyer left, the worker went to human resources and loss prevention. Target staff then contacted Tigard police. A police officer responded, and a detective assigned to an FBI task force later interviewed the worker and store staff.
Investigators obtained a warrant days later to search Buckmeyer’s home, vehicle and electronic devices. Court records say agents seized three devices, including an iPhone 6S. The devices were sent for forensic review. After months of analysis, federal investigators found no pornographic images involving children and returned the devices. Buckmeyer was not charged with any crime. The lawsuit said the search and investigation became known to people around him and limited his ability to spend time with his child while the case was pending. In an email cited by his lawyer, Buckmeyer wrote that the accusation had ruined his life in many ways.
The civil case was filed in 2019 and named Target Corp., MarketSource Inc. and unnamed workers as defendants. It focused on intentional infliction of emotional distress, a claim that required the estate to show extreme conduct and severe distress. A trial judge first dismissed that claim on summary judgment. The Oregon Court of Appeals reversed that decision on April 23, 2025, saying a jury should decide whether the worker made a good-faith report or fabricated the allegation. The appeals court said a fact finder could weigh the worker’s account against the forensic evidence and other facts in the record.
At trial, the estate argued that the accusation was false and that Target should be held responsible because the worker’s report led police and federal investigators to Buckmeyer. Electronic-forensics experts testified that they found no illegal images on his devices. Target’s lawyers argued that the company believed the worker acted in good faith and that employees had a duty to report suspected abuse. The jury sided with the estate by a 9-3 vote and awarded $150,000. The award was far below the damages the estate sought, but Fuller said the ruling cleared Buckmeyer’s name in a public way.
The verdict also highlighted the tension at the center of the case. Oregon law protects good-faith reports of suspected child abuse, and Target’s defense pointed to the importance of reporting possible crimes against children. The estate argued that a knowingly false report is different and can destroy an innocent person’s reputation. The appeals court had framed that same divide before trial, saying a good-faith report would not support the estate’s claim, while an intentionally false report could be considered outrageous conduct under state law.
Anselmo said the family lived for years with uncertainty over whether Buckmeyer’s name would ever be cleared. She said the verdict allowed them to say the allegation was fabricated. Fuller said Buckmeyer wanted Target held accountable before he died. Target did not provide an immediate public response to the verdict in the reports reviewed. The judgment is expected to benefit Buckmeyer’s daughter. Any post-trial motions or appeal would be the next step in the civil case.
The verdict stands as the latest ruling in a case that began with one phone-counter encounter in 2018 and moved through state court for nearly seven years.
Author note: Last updated May 3, 2026.