Brogan McKrola enters Grant County Circuit Court in Canyon City for his sentencing hearing on Monday, July 31, 2023.

CANYON CITY – Brogan McKrola, 24, of Mt. Vernon was sentenced to 15 years in prison at a hearing in Grant County Circuit Court on Monday, July 31.

He will also be required to register as a sex offender and submit to a period of post-prison supervision.

McKrola faced a total of 30 charges, including rape, sodomy, sexual abuse, kidnapping, strangulation and aggravated animal abuse.

Eleven women were listed as victims in court documents, with the crimes against them alleged to have taken place in various locations in Grant County between 2015 and 2020.

A trial had been set to begin July 18 but was canceled after McKrola’s attorney reached a plea deal with prosecutors.

McKrola agreed to plead guilty to one count of each of attempted sodomy in the first degree, sex abuse in the second degree and rape in the third degree. He also agreed to plead no contest to one count of sodomy in the third degree and sex abuse in the third degree.

An amended plea hearing was held at 10:30 a.m. on Monday, prior to the 2 p.m. sentencing hearing, in which McKrola pleaded no contest to two counts of felony coercion and one count of felony aggravated animal abuse in the first degree.

All other charges in the case were dismissed.

McKrola showed no emotion as three victim statements were read out in court: one read by a victim rights advocate, followed by a mother’s personal statement about her daughter’s experience, and the last read by a victim herself.

The statements presented personal stories of trauma and deep pain that included experiences of depression, lost opportunities, suspended dreams and shattered faith.

One of the victims’ statements recounted how she had never been to a high school party before, but then found herself in a “living nightmare” the next morning where she was “poked, prodded, stripped and humiliated” in the hospital emergency room. She said she felt “mentally lost” and stripped of her dignity.

“Following the incident, I was no longer able to hold that bond with my family and friends,” she wrote. “I quit my job and school, and moved away from John Day within days. I missed Christmas and New Year’s with my family.”

The trauma, she said, prevented her from being able to proceed with her dreams of enrolling in college and working in veterinary services, and it even broke her connection with her horse.

“Due to the physical PTSD, I still to this day have not been able to get on the back of a horse by myself, which for me brings an immeasurable amount of heartbreak and pain.”

In the second statement, a victim’s mother shared a message of hope and strength after the conclusion to “three years of lost hope, belief and dreams.”

“(She) said, “Mom. I used to say that I did not want a home and a family, a career, a future really, not because I didn’t want those things, but because I didn’t think I was strong enough to have those things. But that’s not true. I do want those things. I have always wanted those things, and I am strong enough.”

The last victim statement was read by the victim herself, who said she was not satisfied with McKrola’s sentence of 15 years and “never will be.” Struggling through tears, her voice breaking, the victim recounted the experience of the last three years of her life, which she called “a prison sentence,” and said she was living her worst nightmare, from which “there is no escape.”

“I don’t think the words exist to adequately explain the pain that not only I felt but 10 other women,” she said. “How many women have to go through this before his consequences actually reflect the severity of his actions? I’m sitting up here today because 11 women were deprived of justice. And every person in this courtroom knows, as good as I do, that he is guilty of every single one of those charges.”

At the end of her statement, speaking in a strong and angry voice, the young woman called McKrola “Satan in human form” and added, “I hope prison shows him his hell.”

“May life take every joyful thing away from you and may God show no mercy on your soul,” she said. “You disgust me.”

McKrola was not in custody when he arrived at court, as per an earlier release agreement, but was taken into custody and lodged in the Grant County Jail after the hearing. From there, he is expected to be transported to the Coffee Creek Correctional Facility in Wilsonville, where he will be evaluated for placement in the state corrections system.

In addition to prison time, the plea agreement acknowledged that McKrola may be required to pay fines, as well as restitution to the victims in an amount to be determined.

The agreement also stated that McKrola would receive credit for time served in jail while awaiting trial and would be eligible for earned time and alternative incarceration programs.

Judge Wade Whiting presided over the sentencing hearing, as he had done at the settlement conferences on the matter in recent months. The case was prosecuted by Toby Tingleaf, a senior assistant attorney general for the Oregon Department of Justice, and Riccola Voigt, chief deputy district attorney for Grant County, at the request of Grant County District Attorney Jim Carpenter.

“The indictment still paints a picture of what the defendant has done to this county since 2015,” Tingleaf said. “The first count occurred June 2015. Here we are in July 2023. Over eight years later, we’re finally dealing with this, hopefully bringing some justice to the victims, some justice to the citizens of Grant County.”

McKrola did not make a statement during his sentencing hearing. His attorney, J. Robert Moon Jr., declined to comment on the case.