Sex abuse charges filed against Cole

The state has filed a second charge of furnishing alcohol to a minor, and four counts of third-degree sexual abuse involving a 17-year-old girl against former Baker County Commission Chair Brian Cole.

Cole, 47, of 17507 Deer Park Loop, was charged with the six Class A misdemeanors in a district attorney’s information filed in Baker County Circuit Court Friday.

The sexual abuse charges accuse Cole of having sexual contact with a person under 18, the legal age of consent in Oregon.

All six counts involve the same 17-year-old girl, according to court records.

In a letter filed in Circuit Court Tuesday, Cole’s attorney, Bob Moon of Baker City, wrote that Cole has waived his right to be formally arraigned on the charges. Moon asked the court to enter a not guilty plea on Cole’s behalf and to set the case for trial.

 Cole originally was cited on Halloween night on one count of furnishing alcohol to the 17-year-old girl.

A Baker County Sheriff’s deputy issued the citation and released Cole after the deputy stopped to check on Cole’s car, which was parked at the Baker Rural Fire District’s Pocahontas Road station about two miles west of Baker City.

The deputy found Cole in the vehicle with the girl, whom Cole is accused of providing with alcohol.

The girl was cited on a charge of minor in possession of alcohol.

The new furnishing charge accuses Cole of also providing the girl with alcohol on Jan. 1, 2009.

The sexual abuse charges accuse Cole of subjecting the victim to sexual contact by causing her to touch him and by him touching her in a sexual manner. The state maintains that the first two counts happened on Sept. 16, 2009, and that the two other counts took place between Oct. 1 and Oct. 30.

Sean Riddell of the state Department of Justice is representing the state.

District Attorney Matt Shirtcliff asked the state to investigate and to prosecute the case to avoid potential conflicts of interest because of Cole’s past relationships with county employees. In addition to his position on the County Commission, Cole worked in economic development for the city, county and state. And he has continued to provide consulting and grant-writing services to government agencies as a private contractor since leaving public service.

Baker County Circuit Court Judge Greg Baxter also has recused himself, and Judge Garry L. Reynolds of Pendleton, who serves Circuit Courts in Morrow and Umatilla counties, was assigned to the case.