Marion County man sentenced to 22.5 years for sex abuse, child porn

Article from the Statesman Journal.

A Marion County man was sentenced to 22 years and six months in prison after he pleaded guilty to seven child pornography and sexual abuse charges.

Ronald Heigh, 50, was arrested by Silverton police in September on seven counts of encouraging child sexual abuse. He was later indicted by a Marion County jury on additional charges.

A warrant was issued for his arrest in September, and he was detained by Silverton police the next day, taken to Marion County jail and held on $120,000 bail.

His arrest came almost 18 months after Silverton police began investigating him, officials said. According to court records, agents with the Oregon Department of Justice were also involved in the investigation.

According to court records, Heigh was accused of sexually abusing and sodomizing a boy under the age of 12 between 2008 and 2009. He also allegedly sexually abused a girl under the age of 14 between 2011 and 2013.

Heigh pleaded guilty to three counts of first-degree encouraging child sexual abuse, second-degree sodomy and three counts of first-degree sexual abuse. In his plea petition, he admitted to sexually abusing and assaulting two children as well as “duplicating at least three visual recordings of sexually explicit conduct involving a child and child abuse.”

On Monday, Heigh was sentenced to 75 months each for the sexual abuse and sodomy charges and 45 months each for the child pornography charges. Some sentences will run concurrently, giving Heigh a total prison sentence of 22 years and six months. He will be required to register as a sex offender upon his release.

If you or someone you care about was sexually abused and you would like advice from an attorney about the rights and options for victims of child sexual abuse, please contact Crew Janci today for a free, confidential consultation at 1-888-407-0224 or by using our private online form.  We will treat you with discretion and respect.

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