On April 17, 2025, following a 16 day trial, a Lane County Circuit Court jury convicted Matthew Allen Drake, DOB February 12, 1979, of the crimes of Rape in the First Degree (four counts) Sodomy in the First Degree (two counts), Using a Child in Display of Sexually Explicit Conduct (two counts), Encouraging Child Sexual Abuse in the First Degree (two counts), EncouragingChild Sexual Abuse in the Second Degree (two counts), and Tampering with Physical Evidence.
The jury found Drake guilty of raping and sodomizing a child under the age of 16 multiple times and compelling the child to send him nude images, which he attempted todelete from evidence.
This case came to the attention of the Lane County Sheriff’s Office when friends of the victim urged the minor to come forward and report. Detectives with the Sheriff’s Office immediately began an investigation and Drake was arrested on March 23, 2023.
Today, April 23, Judge Clara Rigmaiden sentenced the defendant to 600 months in the Oregon Department of Corrections with lifetime post-prison supervision, sex offender registration, HIV/DNA testing, and restitution. The sentence was imposed under Ballot Measure 73, the Oregon Crimefighting Act, which was passed by voters in 2010.
