DALLAS (OR) – Mauricio Barba Duran, 37, of Silverton, has been sentenced to serve 25 years in prison after a Polk County jury unanimously found him guilty of rape in the first degree and sodomy in the first degree at the end of a four day trial this week. At sentencing, the District Attorney’s Office had argued for consecutive sentences, but Judge Monte Campbell elected to sentence Duran to concurrent time and imposed a lifetime term of post-prison supervision.

During the trial, the state presented evidence that the victim had been between 6-11 years old at the time of the abuse and had been living in the Sheridan area with her family. The case was prosecuted under Oregon’s Jessica’s Law which requires a 25-year sentence to be imposed against anyone convicted of committing a first degree sex offense against a child under the age of 12.

“I am pleased we were able to hold this defendant accountable for his actions and get a measure of justice for this young victim,” said Polk County Deputy District Attorney Erin Brady, who handled the case for the District Attorney’s Office. The case was investigated by Det. Jeff Williams of the Polk County Sheriff’s Office.