A 21-year-old Hubbard man is headed to prison for nearly 18 years after admitting to three separate Clackamas County child sex abuse cases that prosecutors say cut an unusually wide and damaging swath. The cases involved two boys abused over several years, online exploitation of underage girls, and sexual conduct directed at a developmentally delayed girl during jail video visits. The sentence was handed down Monday, closing a prosecution officials described as both broad in scope and devastating in impact.
Malachi Samuel Kercher received a 215-month sentence in Clackamas County Circuit Court, according to a release from the Clackamas County District Attorney’s Office. The plea deal wrapped three separate cases into one resolution and included two counts of first-degree sexual abuse, two counts of second-degree sodomy, and three counts of using a child in a display of sexually explicit conduct. Deputy District Attorney Josh Cutino called Kercher’s conduct “truly shocking” and said the abuse has caused lasting harm to the victims.
The first investigation opened after the parents of two boys contacted law enforcement in June 2025, KOIN reported. Investigators said the boys, who were in the same home-school program as Kercher and his family, disclosed abuse that began when one was 6 and the other 9. Prosecutors said much of the abuse took place in a wooded area behind Kercher’s home.
The second case centered on jail video visits with a girl who had the intellectual capacity of a 12-year-old, according to the Clackamas County District Attorney’s Office. After jail staff blocked her account, authorities said she created new accounts and continued exposing herself at Kercher’s direction. The third investigation began when a family member reported that Kercher was messaging underage girls online; investigators said he sent explicit photos to girls ages 13 and 15 and asked them to send similar images.
Kercher was already on probation when the sex-offense charges landed. KOIN also reported that he had been convicted in 2025 of setting fire to Zion Mennonite Church in Hubbard, a separate case involving arson and criminal mischief.
Clackamas County’s Recent Child-Exploitation Prosecutions
Kercher’s case is one of several major child-exploitation prosecutions Clackamas County officials have highlighted this year. A repeat offender from West Linn received a 10-year sentence after pleading guilty to seven counts related to child sexual abuse material, while a Hillsboro man received 42 years after admitting to sexually and physically abusing a girl, according to the Clackamas County District Attorney’s Office and its Clackamas County District Attorney’s Office.
