Halfway man pleads not guilty to nine felony sex abuse charges

A not-guilty plea keeps Zachariah Scott Peer’s Baker County case in the pretrial phase, with the next major step now a settlement conference set for Aug. 27 in Baker County Circuit Court. Peer, 42, remains in the Baker County Jail on $500,000 bail, with the option to post 10 percent, after entering the plea Monday morning before Judge Robert Raschio.

The indictment is broad. A grand jury charged Peer on July 17, 2025, with five counts of first-degree sex abuse, three counts of first-degree unlawful sexual penetration and one count of first-degree sodomy. Prosecutors say the allegations involve three victims and span three separate periods, from 1999 through 2001, from 2011 through 2014 and from 2012 through 2015. That timing is one reason the case has taken so long to reach this point, even though Peer was arrested at his home in Halfway on July 9, 2025, after officers served a search warrant.

The path to Monday’s plea was drawn out. Peer first was expected to enter a plea in August 2025, but he waived his right to a speedy trial that month. A Sept. 15 motion sought his release from jail, and he remained held as the case moved through repeated continuances. The hearing that had been set for April 6 was delayed so the defense could wait for an expert report, then reset for May 4, when Raschio accepted the not-guilty plea. Raschio is presiding after a defense motion in July 2025 led to the disqualification of Judge Matt Shirtcliff.

The charges carry major sentencing exposure under Oregon law. First-degree sodomy and first-degree unlawful sexual penetration are Measure 11 crimes in qualifying cases, each carrying a 100-month mandatory minimum. First-degree sex abuse can carry a 75-month mandatory minimum in qualifying cases. Oregon’s Measure 11 took effect on April 1, 1995, and if prosecutors secure convictions on the most serious counts, the sentence would be largely fixed by statute.

For families affected by sexual abuse, the case also points to the broader support system around child-victim prosecutions. Oregon Department of Justice materials say victims, and the parents or guardians of child victims, have rights to notice of key proceedings, and survivors of sexual assault and child abuse may qualify for the Oregon Crime Victims’ Compensation Program. In Baker County, the case now moves toward late summer, where plea negotiations, another delay or a future trial will determine how it closes.