Jury convicts La Pine man of sexually abusing three children

REDMOND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- At the conclusion of a trial held at the Deschutes County Fairgrounds, a jury on Friday convicted a 50-year-old La Pine man on 17 felony counts, including first-degree rape and sexual abuse, for the molestation of three young children, prosecutors said

Rusty Allen Pugh's conviction on crimes including first-degree rape and sexual abuse resulted from a Bend Police Department investigation into his abuse of three children who were 5 to 12 years old at the time of the crimes, from 2001 to 2008.

In 2019, one of the victims, who was then an adult, came forward to Bend police to report the abuse she had been subjected to as a child by Pugh, District Attorney John Hummel said.

Detectives were able to identify and interview other victims of Pugh in the following months. He was subsequently arrested and has been charged with having sexually abused six children. This jury verdict is for the abuse of three children whose cases were factually connected.

Sentencing in this matter, as well as the trial related to the abuse of the three other children, will be set by the court in the coming month, Hummel said.

Criminal trials have been moved to the Redmond fairgrounds for facilities better equipped to meet COVID-19 physical distancing and other requirements.

Hummel issued this statement on the conviction of Pugh:

“Justice was done today at the Deschutes County Fairgrounds.  A jury heard the evidence and agreed with the State of Oregon: Rusty Pugh sexually abused three children.  There is no crime my team and I pursue more aggressively than child sex abuse.  If you plan on committing child sex abuse in Deschutes County, know that you will be up against the most talented, dedicated, and dogged team of child sex abuse deputy district attorneys in the country.”