George Staab

A Sisters man will serve six years in prison for amassing a vast collection of child pornography.

George Christian Staab, 75, had so much child porn, computer forensic detectives were only able to complete a partial examination of three computers and an external hard drive seized from his home in 2019, according to a sentencing memo in his criminal case, which concluded Monday with his sentencing in Deschutes County Circuit Court.

“It was incredibly difficult and time intensive to complete a full forensic investigation,” wrote Deputy District Attorney Matthew Nelson in a court document.

Staab, a retired forester with the Bureau of Land Management, was arrested in May 2019 after the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office received tips from the Internet Crimes Against Children task force.

He was reportedly forthcoming in his interviews with police, “readily” admitting to being addicted to child pornography and looking at it between eight and 10 hours a day, according to prosecutors.

In Staab’s home in the 70000 block of Cayuse Drive, police found numerous binders, exhaustively categorized by victim and type of abuse, with detailed descriptions including timestamps and highlights. The victims were as young as infants, according to Nelson.

“The images and videos were horrific and depicted children being abused in unimaginable ways,” Nelson said in the sentencing memo. “These images and videos weren’t digitally created. These were real victims whose horrific abuse was likewise real. As is well-documented, (Staab) funded and encouraged the sexual abuse, rape and sodomy of these children.”

Staab was initially charged with 10 counts of first-degree encouraging child sexual abuse and 20 of second-degree encouraging child sexual abuse. He faced a maximum prison sentence of 30 years.

Relatives of his wife attended his arraignment hearing in May 2019 and shouted obscenities at him when his image appeared on the courtroom video screen, leading to an admonishment from the judge.

Staab appeared for sentencing Monday before Judge Ray Crutchley in Deschutes County Circuit Court, having pleaded guilty to three counts of first-degree encouraging child sexual abuse in June.

The state requested Staab serve nine years in prison — three concurrent three-year terms. His defense argued for a prison term of two years and three months.

Crutchley ultimately opted to run two three-year sentences consecutively and one concurrent.

Staab has previously lived in Douglas, Lane and Clackamas counties. He had no prior criminal record in Oregon.