A Pilot Rock man was sentenced to more than 12 years in prison with no possibility of parole after pleading guilty to sexually abusing three minor girls in Umatilla County.
Karl Louis Lyon, 63, pleaded guilty to three counts of first-degree sexual abuse on Monday and was sentenced to 150 months in prison. In December, a grand jury determined Lyon kissed and fondled one girl; rubbed his “intimate part(s)” against the buttocks of another girl three times; and touched the buttocks of a third girl and kissed her on the mouth, according to the indictment. Two incidents occurred in 2010 and the third in 2013.
Umatilla County Deputy District Attorney Monte G. Lundington said Lyon had taken accountability of his actions and pleaded guilty, alleviating the need for the minor girls to testify and relive the abuse.
During sentencing, Lyon apologized to his victims.
“I’m very sorry to each one of the girls and their families,” he said, adding that he “violated their trust.”
Umatilla County Circuit Court Judge Chris Brauer said there were “compelling circumstances” that supported the recommendation of 150 months in prison. He said he was impressed that Lyon pleaded guilty and avoided putting the victims through the ordeal of a public trial. Brauer, however, said that was the “only good of these whole circumstances,” and described Lyon’s crimes as “heinous acts.”
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