Prineville man gets 50 years for abusing young girl

A 34-year-old Prineville man was sentenced to 50 years in prison Monday for sexually abusing his former girlfriend’s young daughter over a period of about three years, Crook County District Attorney Wade Whiting said.

Timothy Jay Gassner was sentenced by Circuit Judge Daniel Ahern, who also included no eligibility for any form of early release from custody and a provision for both lifetime supervision and registration as a sex offender.

The sentence was the result of a trial where the jury returned a guilty verdict on all 13 counts in early April, Whiting said in a news release.

In reaching their verdict, the jury found Gassner had sexually abused his former girlfriend’s young daughter when she was between the ages of 4 and 7 years old. He was arrested in September 2016 more than a dozen rape and related charges.

The felony first-degree convictions of rape, sodomy and unlawful sexual penetration are informally referred to as “Jessica’s Law” convictions.

Under Oregon’s Jessica’s Law, a defendant convicted of committing these types of sex-related offenses against a child under the age of 12 must serve a minimum of 25 years in prison. At sentencing, the state requested the court impose a 75-year sentence with no possibility of any form of sentence reduction and lifetime supervision and sex offender registration.

Like many cases involving ongoing sexual abuse at the hands of a family member or family acquaintance, the disclosure of the abuse by the child was delayed until after the perpetrator was removed from the home, Whiting said.

“In this case, Gassner had threatened the physical well-being of the young child if she were to ever tell anyone,” the DA said.

About a year after Gassner was removed from the home, the then 8-year-old victim felt safe to disclose to her grandmother that Gassner had been sexually abusing her for years while her mother was working her graveyard shift.

Upon hearing the child’s disclosure, the grandmother immediately contacted the mother, who in turn contacted the police.

Prineville Police Detective Brandin Noland led the investigation, interviewed multiple witnesses, obtained physical evidence and arrested the defendant, Whiting said.

“KIDS Center provided invaluable support by conducting a forensic interview and medical evaluation of the child victim and then provided expert testimony at trial,” the DA said. “The Oregon State Police Crime Lab provided two forensic scientists who testified regarding the DNA evidence recovered.”

The state was represented by Whiting and Chief Deputy District Attorney Raun Atkinson.

“The Crook County District Attorney’s Office is appreciative of the outstanding efforts or our community partners in achieving a successful prosecution of this case,” Whiting concluded.