The sex crimes trial of Melvin Forest Buckmaster of Hermiston remains on the docket for early September.

Buckmaster, 37, was in circuit court Monday in Hermiston for a pretrial conference. Court records show he asked for a new defense attorney, but Judge Eva Temple denied the request. She also kept his trial on for Sept. 1 and 2 pending the possibility of a plea deal by the end of this week.

Buckmaster pleaded not guilty in November 2014 to five counts of second-degree sodomy, four counts of first-degree sexual abuse and one charge of second-degree unlawful sexual penetration. The state accused Buckmaster of committing the crimes between Aug. 1, 2013, and Jan. 4, 2014, against a girl younger than 14.

Defense attorney Thomas Gray of Pendleton in April asked Temple to review records showing the girl had “memory deficit and learning problems” and received counseling for “recent depression and anxiety.” The defense also claimed the girl had a history of living in a home with domestic violence.

That kind of home life can cause trauma, but it also can be the kind of situation a sexual predator uses to take advantage of a potential victim. Men who abuse often go after victims they see as emotionally or mentally vulnerable, such as children living in tough family situations.

Another sex crimes case also soon could head to trial. Robert Wayne Price, 48, Hermiston, has pleaded not guilty to five counts of first-degree sexual abuse against three girls. The state alleges in the charging document Price molested the girls on separate occasions from August 2009 through mid-November 2014.

Court records reveal allegations about Price came up sometime before the criminal investigation.

Pendleton police officer Cody Pieschel on Oct. 9, 2014, received a report from the Oregon Department of Human Services about possible sexual abuse. Pieschel called the state social worker on the case, who reported the agency closed the case “because she did not believe the alleged suspect had been allowed contact with the children for at least a year.”

Yet, according to Pieschel’s report, the case worker also said she had not confirmed that with the children’s guardian, their grandmother.

Pieschel reported that evening he spoke with the grandmother, who had guardianship of three children because their parents used drugs and were in and out of jail and prison. The grandmother reported “she had heard from other family members about the alleged sexual crimes regarding Price,” but as far as she knew Price last had any contact with children around June 2013. She said Price in the past saw the children when they visited their parents or went camping.

She also said she had not reported any of what she heard to police or state social services.

During the visit, according to Pieschel, a young relative revealed one of the girls told her about possible sexual incidents with Price at his residence in Hermiston and on camping trips. Pendleton police sent the case to Hermiston.

Hermiston Police Chief Jason Edmiston has stated other family members in Washington also came forward in late 2014, and the subsequent investigation led to Price’s arrest in April.

And rape defendant Shaun Allen Dick, 37, of Pendleton, has a pretrial hearing Monday at the Umatilla County Courthouse, Pendleton. The state accused him of raping and sexually abusing a woman on Jan. 18, and of threatening to harm her if she revealed his actions. He had pleaded not guilty to all charges.