PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) -- A prominent Medford businessman and civic volunteer pleaded guilty to charges of online sexual corruption of a minor.
Kelly Rasmussen arrested
Kelly Rasmussen, 47, was arrested in Portland last fall after engaging in sexually explicit online chat with police officers whom he believed to be 11- and 13-year-old girls, and then driving north to meet them.
Rasmussen has a sentencing hearing scheduled for April 3 in Clackamas County Circuit Court. He pleaded guilty Thursday to only two of five counts; the remaining three are listed as "active" in court records, the Mail Tribune newspaper of Medford reported.
Rasmussen, the father of three children, is vice president of Jackson Travel in Medford.
He was president of the Southern Oregon Golf Tournament and a past president of the Rogue Valley Country Club. He is a member of the Medford Linebackers Club and the Medford Rogue Rotary Club.
The Britt Festival suspended Rasmussen from its board of directors following the news of his arrest, and he no longer provides color commentary for South and North Medford high school football and basketball games, which he had done for 15 years.
Mark Bayliss, Rasmussen's former broadcasting partner, told the Mail Tribune he felt relief that Rasmussen opted to plead guilty and "face the consequences."
"I pray for Kelly," Bayliss said. "I hope that he can learn from his mistakes and move forward."
Rasmussen was arrested in October by officers from a multi-agency child exploitation prevention team.
Michael Regan, a senior deputy district attorney in Clackamas County, said Rasmussen's actions supported charging him with the most serious of three recently enacted laws against online sexual predators.
