Prineville, Ore. — A Prineville man convicted by a jury on 13 counts involving child sexual abuse material was sentenced Wednesday to seven years in state prison, according to Crook County District Attorney Kari Hathorn.
Angel Avila, 23, was sentenced by Crook County Circuit Court Judge Wade Whiting to 84 months in prison followed by 36 months of post-prison supervision.
Avila was convicted following a jury trial of six counts of first-degree encouraging child sexual abuse and seven counts of second-degree encouraging child sexual abuse. The charges stemmed from the downloading and possession of child sexual abuse material, commonly referred to as CSAM.
Avila will also be required to register as a sex offender, according to the judgment document.
The investigation began after the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children received a cyber tip that was ultimately forwarded to the Oregon Department of Justice’s Internet Crimes Against Children task force and Prineville Police Department.
According to Hathorn’s office, Prineville detectives later located seven videos containing child sexual abuse material that had been downloaded by Avila.
“The possession and distribution of child sexual abuse material is not a victimless crime,” Hathorn said in announcing the sentence Wednesday. “Every image and video represents ongoing exploitation of a child.”
Hathorn said the material causes lasting trauma to victims and thanked detectives for their work investigating the case.
The case was prosecuted by Crook County Deputy District Attorney Paxton Deuel.
Hathorn’s office credited Prineville Police Detective Jacob Gentry, who served as the case agent, and Detective Sgt. Jordan Zamora for their work on the investigation.
Hathorn also thanked Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office Detective Pat Hartley, who works with the agency’s Digital Forensics Laboratory, and Bend Police Detective Jared Wiebold for their assistance.
Mr. Alderman is an investigative journalist specializing in government transparency, non-profit accountability, consumer protection, and is a subject matter expert on Oregon’s public records and meetings laws. As a former U.S. Army Military Police Officer, he brings a disciplined investigative approach to his reporting that has frequently exposed ethics violations, financial mismanagement, and transparency failures by public officials and agencies.
