Gonyer

A Baker County man accused of sexually abusing a child about four years ago continues to be treated for cancer and remains unable to stand trial.

Bill David Gonyer, 76, is being treated at a hospital in the Portland area, Baker County District Attorney Greg Baxter said.

Gonyer is required to check in with officials periodically to ensure he is still undergoing treatment and is not able to aid in his defense, Baxter said.

If Gonyer recovers sufficiently, Baxter said he would be ready to take the case to trial.

Gonyer, who is charged with multiple felonies for allegedly sexually abusing a girl younger than 14 whom he knew, has had a trial date postponed twice due to his medical condition.

In addition to cancer treatment, he had a heart attack in March 2022, according to court records.

Gonyer was arrested on Dec. 28, 2019, in Ada County, Idaho, where he was undergoing medical treatment.

He was extradited to Baker County in early January 2020 and was held at the Baker County Jail until December 2020, when Judge Thomas B. Powers granted Gonyer a conditional release so he could get medical treatment at the Boise VA Hospital and other facilities.

After Gonyer was granted a conditional release at the end of 2020, he lived in a motel in Baker City during 2021, but was required to wear an ankle monitor.

Gonyer originally was indicted on several crimes related to the sexual assault of a girl younger than 14 who was known to him. The crimes allegedly happened between May 1, 2019, and Dec. 20, 2019.

• Five counts of first-degree sexual abuse, a Class B felony.

• Two counts of second-degree sexual abuse, a Class C felony.

• Six counts of third-degree sexual abuse, a Class A misdemeanor.

• Two counts of second-degree unlawful sexual penetration, a Class B felony.

• Two counts of contributing to the sexual abuse of a minor, a Class A misdemeanor.

• One count of first-degree rape, a Class A felony.

• One count of second-degree rape, a Class B felony.

• One count of third-degree rape, a Class C felony.

• One count of luring a minor, a Class C felony.

• One count of using a child in a display of sexually explicit conduct, a Class A felony.

• Six counts of felon in possession of a firearm, a Class C felony.

In February 2021 several other charges were added, including four counts of first-degree encouraging child sexual abuse and four counts of second-degree encouraging child sexual abuse. Those charges are related to child pornography discovered on Gonyer’s computer during the course of the investigation, Baker County District Attorney Greg Baxter said in a previous interview.

The pornography doesn’t involve the child who is Gonyer’s alleged victim in the other incidents, which police said happened between May 1, 2019, and Dec. 20, 2019.

Gonyer is a registered sex offender. He was convicted of the felony crime of sexual abuse in Clackamas County in 1999. Gonyer, who was living at Gladstone at the time, was sentenced to 75 months in prison after pleading guilty to one count of first-degree sexual abuse involving a girl younger than 14, court documents state. That crime took place in February 1998.