Fernandez

HERMISTON — A Hermiston man is going to prison for the rest of his life after pleading guilty to numerous sexual crimes against his grandchild.

The Umatilla County District Attorney’s Office in a press release announced Jose Olivarez Fernandez, 58, was at trial Jan. 26 and 27 on multiple sex crimes. But just before the 10-year-old victim was to take the stand and testify, Fernandez pleaded guilty to all 19 counts of unlawful sexual penetration, first-degree sodomy, first-degree sex abuse, using a child in display of sexually explicit conduct, first-degree encouraging child sex abuse and incest.

Umatilla County Circuit Judge Dan Hill on Friday, Jan. 29, sentenced Fernandez to 200 years, 10 months in the Oregon Department of Corrections.

Fernandez is the biological grandfather of the victim, according to the district attorney’s office, and sexually abused the child from the ages of 6 to 9, when the abuse was reported. The crimes took place in multiple jurisdictions, the most recent being Fernandez’s home in Hermiston.

The Umatilla County Sheriff’s Office investigated the case with the assistance of the Guardian Care Center, a nonprofit organization in Pendleton that works to minimize trauma to child abuse victims. Chief Deputy District Attorney Jaclyn Jenkins handled the prosecution.