La Grande man sentenced to 16 years for multiple sex crimes
By Joe Hathaway on Thursday, December 21st, 2023 in More Top Stories Northeastern Oregon News
LA GRANDE — A La Grande man will spend the next 16 years in prison for a series of sex crimes that spanned nearly a decade.
52-year-old Bradley Welch pleaded guilty in Union County Circuit Court to first-degree sexual abuse, second-degree sodomy, second-degree unlawful sexual penetration, third-degree sodomy and second-degree sexual abuse.
Welch was arrested in October of 2022, accused of sexually abusing a female beginning in 2013 when she was a minor and abusing the same victim up until September of 2022.
According to the Union County District Attorney’s Office, Welch had texted the victim’s then-boyfriend before his arrest, saying he had “made mistakes” and described himself as “sick.”
Welch also told a La Grande Police Officer at the time of his arrest that he had an inappropriate relationship with a minor who was now an adult, but that “some of the acts were done before she was of age.”
According to the Union County DA’s Office: “The Victim was interviewed and stated the first incident of sexual abuse occurred when she was about ten which involved groping. She described the first sexual assault happening right after she turned eleven, in late August or early September of 2013. The Victim indicated the frequency of the sexual assaults increased from once a month to multiple times in a week and happened when she was alone with him or when they went on hunting trips. The method of sexual abuse also changed as the Victim grew older to include other forms of sexual assault. When she was asked how many times she was sexually abused by Defendant, she indicated over a thousand times between when she ten and when the last sexual assault occurred in September of 2022.”
Welch was initially charged with 15 counts of felony sex crimes, but pleaded guilty to five as part of a plea deal. The victim agreed to the plea resolution.
He will spend 16 years in prison without any form of reduction or early release and will have to undergo an additional 10 years of post-prison supervision.
