La Pine man, convicted of abusing 3 children, is sentenced to nearly 92 years in prison
BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) – A 50-year-old La Pine man convicted earlier this year on multiple counts of sexual abuse over several years involving three young children was sentenced by a Deschutes County judge Wednesday to nearly 92 years in prison.
Rusty Pugh was convicted by a jury in February on all 17 counts of felony sex crimes, including first-degree rape and first-degree sexual abuse. The trial took place at the Deschutes County Fairgrounds in Redmond due to COVID-19 issues.
A now-adult victim came forward to Bend police in 2019 to report the abuse she’d been subjected to as a child, prompting an investigation that led to charges Pugh sexually abused a total six children.
The abuse he was convicted of this year involved three children whose cases were connected and who were ages 5-12 at the time of the crimes, which spanned seven years, from 2001 to 2008. The charges involving the other three alleged victims will be tried at a later date.
Deputy District Attorney Stacy Neil said Judge Alycia Sykora imposed the 1,100-month sentence after two of the three victims from the trial appeared in court to give statements regarding the impact of the abuse.
