HEPPNER, Ore. (AP) — An Eastern Oregon judge has sentenced a 33-year-old man to more than six decades in prison for raping and molesting two children.
Edward Joseph Pergande (pur-GAHN-dee) was accused of the crimes against victims aged 4 and 7 during the assaults in 2006 and 2007. A jury convicted him Sept. 2.
The East Oregonian reported (http://bit.ly/oghGW3 ) that Judge Eva Temple imposed consecutive sentences on Thursday, adding up to more than 62 years.
Formerly of Irrigon, Pergande was arrested in the fall of 2008, posted $25,000 bail and disappeared. A year later, someone alerted law enforcement that he was fishing under the Umatilla River bridge in Umatilla. Since then, he’s been in the Umatilla County Jail.