Bend ex-Guard soldier gets 37 years in girl’s rape

A former Oregon National Guard soldier, convicted last week of raping a fellow soldier’s 11-year-old daughter, was sentenced Tuesday to more than 37 years in prison.

The sentence was handed down by Deschutes County Circuit Judge Stephen Forte. He found Florentino Allen Valdez, 35, of Bend, guilty of first-degree rape, sodomy and five of eight counts of first-degree sexual assault last week after a six-day trial last week, saying the evidence he heard was overwhelming.

The mandatory minimum sentences for the first-degree rape and sodomy convictions was 25 years in prison. Valdez, arrested in March of last year, officially got 450 months.

If he’s ever released from prison, Valdez will be on parole for the rest of his life and must register as a sex offender.

Valdez was given an “other than honorable” discharge from the National Guard last year, a Bend Guard spokesman said.