NE Bend man accused of distributing child sex abuse material from day care back in court, now has public defender

(Update: Public defender appointed, arraignment set for Friday)

Also charged with image of animal; detectives say they have no evidence children at facility were victimized

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) – A 62-year-old man living at a northeast Bend licensed day care facility was arrested on numerous charges in a raid on his home Thursday after a tip prompted a two-month investigation of distribution of child sexual abuse material online from a computer at the home, Deschutes County sheriff’s deputies said Friday.

Authorities said they immediately served a search warrant at the home upon learning it was a child care facility. They stressed Friday that there was no evidence to indicate the facility’s children were victims, but offered contact information for parents with questions or concerns.

The district attorney’s office on Friday filed 22 felony charges of first- and second-degree encouraging child sex abuse against Jack Edward Bergeron Jr., who lived at the home in the 500 block of NE Burnside Avenue, as well as Class A misdemeanor count of encouraging sexual assault of an animal.

Bergeron was arraigned Friday afternoon on the 11 first-degree counts, Class B felonies, and 11 second-degree counts, Class C felonies, as well as the misdemeanor charge. All 23 counts list a date for the allegations of "on or about May 30" (Thursday).

Once again, as with Thursday’s aggravated theft hearing for Dawn Holland, Circuit Judge Randy Miller noted that no public defender had yet been appointed for Bergeron, and ordered the Oregon Public Defense Commission to do so. The judge scheduled a status hearing for Tuesday.

In the meantime, at Deputy District Attorney Michael Swart’s recommendation, Miller set Bergeron's bail at $500,000.

At Tuesday's weekly hearing to handle the rising number of cases of unrepresented defendants, Circuit Judge Wells Ashby noted the appointment of public defender Aaron Bishow to represent Bergeron, who again appeared by video from jail.

District Attorney Steve Gunnels told the judge a grand jury is expected to take up the case Thursday and Ashby set his arraignment for Friday afternoon.

A man in the courtroom asked to speak to the judge and said he's known Bergeron for 40 years, asking that he be released. He said Bergeron is not a flight risk or danger to the public, adding that "he's had a life of giving and serving."

Ashby told the man that while he appreciated his advocacy for the defendant, "the best thing you can do is contact his attorney." The judge made no change in Bergeron's $50,000 bail pending the next court hearing. Bishow told Bergeron he'd probably be at the jail Wednesday to meet with Bergeron and advised him not to discuss the case with anyone, including over the phone.

If Bergeron does post 10 percent bail ($50,000) and is released, Miller has ordered that he have no contact with any minors or go anywhere they congregate and have no access to any devices capable of accessing the internet. If he is released on bail, Bergeron also was ordered to get and wear a GPS tracking monitor. He also was ordered to have no contact with domestic animals.

In requesting the bail amount, prosecutor Swart noted that nearly 50 illegal images had been found, “one depicting bestiality,” and that Bergeron and his wife operate a day care out of their home, with children ages 6 months to 5 ½ years old.

Deschutes County property tax records indicate Bergeron is owner of the home where the day care operates.

Det. Sgt. Thomas Lilienthal confirmed Saturday to NewsChannel 21 that Bergeron operated the day care with his wife and he assisted with care.

"We still don’t have any evidence to support that any children at the day care were victims at this point," Lilienthal added. "I have spoken to several parents and have more to contact next week."

Sheriff's Sergeant Jason Wall said the sheriff’s office was made aware in March of an IP (Internet Protocol) address that was actively distributing child sexual abuse material through peer-to-per (P2P) networks in Deschutes County.

Homeland Security Investigations out of Eugene was able to connect to the computer and shared that information with the DCSO Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) unit, Wall said.

“ICAC detectives initiated an investigation and obtained a large amount of evidence over the next two months,” Wall said in a news release.

On Thursday, detectives determined the IP address distributing the material was operated by Bergeron. They also learned his residence, where the crimes were occurring, also operated a state-licensed child care facility, Wall said.

“Due to the significantly increased risk of Bergeron’s access to children, ICAC unit detectives, as well as detectives with the agency’s Street Crimes and Digital Forensics units, Oregon State Police ICAC detectives, The FBI and Redmond Police Department Digital Forensics unit immediately served a search warrant at the home, seizing several digital devices.

Bergeron was arrested and taken to the county jail, where he was booked on 21 initial charges and held without bail pending arraignment.

Wall said, "At this time, detectives have no evidence to show that the children of the child care facility were victims of the aforementioned charges. However, he added, "The Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office requests that if parents of children who attend the child care facility have questions or concerns to contact Deschutes County Dispatch Non-Emergency at 541-693-6911 to be placed in contact with the ICAC unit."

"Further search warrants will be sought for the analysis of the seized digital devices, which may result in future charges being filed," the sergeant added.