Normally a supporter of lighter, alternative sentencing, Deschutes County District Attorney John Hummel said he fought hard to get the longest-possible prison term for defendant Ryan Matthew Supica.

“Mr. Supica was unable to conform his conduct to the law; he’s just not able to,” Hummel said. “He had to go away. That was the only way to keep the community safe.”

Supica, known to local police as a chronic public masturbator, was at the time of sentencing this week the longest-serving inmate in the Deschutes County jail at 17 months.

He might have left the jail sooner if not for subsequent offenses.

Since December 2016, he’s been charged with 12 counts of public or private indecency for exposing himself to women.

“Defendant has continued his behaviors while incarcerated,” reads a case summary released by the Deschutes County District Attorney’s Office. “He displays hypersexualized behaviors and continues to be aggressive toward staff.”

In all, 10 separate cases were joined in a universal plea agreement in which Supica pleaded guilty to three counts of private indecency for exposing himself to female staff at the jail, one charge of public indecency for exposing himself to a female nurse at St. Charles Bend and one count of criminal mischief for kicking out a jail window.

The deal was approved by Deschutes County Circuit Judge Wells Ashby at Supica’s sentencing Monday. Supica is now housed at the Oregon Department of Corrections intake center.

“Cases like this are difficult, where you have somebody who is clearly struggling with mental health issues,” Hummel said Wednesday. “Generally speaking, I like to get that person help as opposed to trying to incarcerate them. But at some point the balance tips to incarceration. And it tips when a person over and over and over again commits serious crimes despite being offered help and treatment.”

Supica, 30, has had extensive dealings with the law since his first arrest as an adult in 2006. But his latest string of criminal cases earned him his longest prison term to date: 63 months. With credit for time served, he’ll serve just under four years in prison.

In addition to the sex offenses, Supica, who’s listed as a transient in court records, was arrested twice as a jail inmate for breaking out windows. In one instance, repairing the damage cost $600, and in the other, it cost $1,000.

“It was tempered glass, so a good deal of force was required to break it,” reads one case summary.

The first in Supica’s recent string of criminal cases began in December 2016, when he was arrested for exposing his genitals to patrons at a Deschutes County library. He was next arrested on March 18, 2017, after a nurse at St. Charles Bend reported he’d exposed himself to her in a patient room. Two days later, Supica reportedly masturbated in front of a young staff member at Old Navy before running out of the store. Eight days after that, he was arrested for breaking into and refusing to leave a room at Tan Republic where a female customer was tanning. On his way out of the salon, he stole between $140 and $150 from the cash register.

Supica’s next five arrests came as an inmate in the Deschutes County jail — two for breaking windows and three for masturbating in front of female staff members.

Defense attorney William Carl, who was appointed by the court, represented Supica, while Deputy District Attorney Brandi Shroyer worked the case on the other side.

Supica’s case is similar to Michael Thomas Dorgan, who was often reported by women around the Portland State University campus. The 55-year-old Multnomah County man was sentenced last month to 4.5 years in prison for his tenth public indecency conviction.

With Supica now in the custody of the Oregon Department of Corrections, the distinction of the longest-serving inmate in the Deschutes County jail is shared by alleged child killers Estevan Adrian Garcia and Sacora Rose Horn-Garcia, who’ve been housed since their arrest in April 2017.

— Reporter: 541-383-0325, gandrews@bendbulletin.com