Court sets trial date for Shane Hall

The trial date for Shane Hall, accused of sex abuse of a minor, has been set for August 22.

Hall and his lawyer, John Halpern of Eugene, were in court on Monday, April 24, for the trial date hearing. Halpern and the Deschutes County Assistant District Attorney agreed the trial might last six days. The August date was the first that accommodated court and attorney schedules.

Hall is accused of sexual abuse of a minor. He was arrested on December 23. Hall was arraigned in Deschutes County Circuit Court on Monday, February 6, on five counts of first-degree sex abuse and one count of unlawful sexual penetration in the second degree. All counts involve a single minor victim, according to the Deschutes County District Attorney’s Office.

At the time of his arrest, Hall was pastor of Christ’s Church of New Beginnings, started by his father, Rodger Hall. The church is now called Christ’s Church of Sisters and has no affiliation with the Hall family.

Hall cannot attend church or go anywhere else where children congregate. He is not to drink alcohol or frequent bars because the alleged crime occurred when he was intoxicated.

Oregon State Police troopers served a search warrant on Hall’s residence on February 17 for game violations and allegedly “smelled alcohol on the defendant” and found open and unopened containers of beer around the premises. The officers took Hall into custody on that day on the release violation accusation. Hall reportedly declined to take a breath test when he was brought into jail.

Hall spent three weeks in jail on that suspicion and on allegations that he drank alcohol at a local bar in violation of his conditions of release, a claim that was later determined to be a case of mistaken identity. Hall was released under electronic monitoring and a 6 p.m. curfew. He must remain at his residence from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m.

On March 9 Hall was directed to be evaluated for alcohol dependence. No written evaluation or letter has yet been completed so the judge on Monday declined to release Hall from his monitoring program.

On May 18, Hall is also expected to be arraigned in Grant County on an indictment handed up by a grand jury. The Grant County District Attorney’s office will not release the nature of the charges in that indictment, but it is believed to be related to the game violations.

Hall is also facing hearings on charges related to a complaint of menacing, stalking and telephonic harassment. Hall and his attorney were planning on getting a trail date on these allegations that would precede the August 22 trial on the more serious charges.