Gavel On Desk In Front Of Judge Working On Laptop

A Prineville businessman could be locked up for a quarter-century if he’s found guilty of sexually abusing a child in a trial set to begin this month.

Tyler Andrew Perrigo is charged with first-degree unlawful sexual penetration. Because the alleged victim was younger than 12, Perrigo would serve a mandatory 25 years in prison under Oregon’s Jessica’s Law.

Perrigo, 40, appeared Monday in Crook County Circuit Court alongside his attorney, Rich Cohen, for final a pre-trial hearing before jury selection is scheduled to start Monday.

Perrigo has declined to negotiate a plea agreement since his arrest in 2019, insisting on fighting the allegations at trial.

The case began following a Barnes Butte Elementary school presentation on child abuse. A 10-year-old girl checked “yes” on a form asking if she had ever been sexually molested.

The girl was ultimately interviewed at the KIDS Center child abuse assessment center in Bend, and confided that Perrigo had allegedly touched her inappropriately at his house on two occasions.

Perrigo was interrogated by police for five hours. He adamantly denied the allegations, though police say his story changed over time. By the end of his police interview, Perrigo allegedly admitted to police he wasn’t certain what happened on the nights in question because he was intoxicated, according to a 32-page probable cause statement filed by the Crook County Sheriff’s Office.

“Tyler told me he would tell (the girl) he didn’t remember doing that to her and he was sorry,” wrote Crook County deputy Javier Sanchez. “Tyler told me that he hoped she would understand that he was under the influence.”

While at the police station, Perrigo also took a polygraph test, which police say he failed.

“Based on the girl’s consistent statements and the statements she gave at the KIDS Center, and Tyler’s statements about what he remembered and the polygraph, I determined I had probable cause to arrest Tyler,” deputy Sanchez wrote.

Perrigo was charged with unlawful sexual penetration and three counts of first-degree sex abuse, and he pleaded not guilty. His trial was delayed several times due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Among the issues argued before the court prior to trial were whether to exclude certain statements Perrigo made to police prior to his arrest.

In court filings, Perrigo’s defense also criticized the “convoluted” manner by which the police learned of the alleged abuse. Following the classroom presentation, the girl discussed the allegations with a friend. Several weeks later, word reached members of the girl’s family, who interviewed her about the allegations on camera with no police present. A recording of that interview was provided to police when the girl’s grandfather, a retried law enforcement official, went to the Prineville Police Department to report the alleged abuse.

Cohen writes in court documents the mother of the alleged victim and Perrigo’s ex-wife have formed an “intriguing alliance.” The women each attempted a failed pretext phone call intended to get Perrigo to confess, according to Cohen.

Perrigo formerly lived in Seaside, where he ran a heavy equipment repair shop, which dissolved upon his divorce with his first wife, according to divorce records. After relocating to Central Oregon, he started a trucking company, Perrigo Farms.