Northeast Oregon man arrested for sex crimes in Wallowa County

Published 1:00 pm Wednesday, August 24, 2022

WALLOWA — An Enterprise Police officer arrested a Northeastern Oregon man Sunday, Aug. 21, in connection with sex crimes in Wallowa County, according to court records.

John Fine, 54, was arrested after he attempted to escape from an Enterprise police officer. Fine has been charged with six counts of felony sexual abuse, six counts of misdemeanor sexual abuse, third-degree attempted sexual abuse and misdemeanor escape.

Bail has been set at $30,000 by Union and Wallowa County Circuit Court Judge Thomas Powers. Fine is scheduled to appear in court for a preliminary probable cause hearing Aug. 29 and is represented by La Grande attorney James Schaeffer.

The Wallowa woman who reported the sex abuse is unnamed in the police report for her privacy and protection. According to the report, the woman is cognitively impaired.

In an interview with police, she said Fine came to her home on Aug. 19 for a guitar lesson. But Fine ended up asking her if she wanted to have children, and she said no.

She said Fine then disrobed her and had nonconsensual sex with her.

The woman told police she was scared of what he was doing to her and scared to tell him to stop. Fine proceeded to pick her up and carry her into the bedroom, where he restarted the sexual contact.

Police arranged a medical evaluation for the woman as part of the investigation. The physician reported she found evidence of recent sexual activity and the evidence indicated the sexual contact was not consensual.

On Aug. 21, Enterprise Police officer Jacob Curtis went to arrest Fine at a house in Enterprise. One occupant told Curtis that Fine was inside the house, before another occupant alerted him that Fine ran out the back. Curtis ran around the house, where he saw Fine fleeing through a yard. The officer yelled at Fine to stop and that he was under arrest, but Fine kept running. Curtis ran after him and eventually found Fine hiding beside a bush a few houses down the street. Fine was arrested and lodged in Umatilla County Jail.

According to court records, Fine has a long criminal history and was convicted of third-degree rape in 1992. Under Oregon law, this means he had sexual intercourse with another person who is under the age of 16. Fine was 23 at the time. He was sentenced to 14 months in jail and three years probation.

On multiple occasions he has failed to register as a sex offender, which led to more than a year’s worth of additional jail time. His most recent citation was issued in July 2022 and he was scheduled to appear in Wallowa County Circuit Court on Aug. 17 — just days before the event in Wallowa.

File has also been convicted on a number of other charges, including second-degree criminal mischief, criminal trespass, second-degree assault and multiple counts of fourth-degree assault.

Fine previously lived in Joseph, but a recent citation was sent out for him in La Grande.