QuickTake:

The mother of an underage girl affiliated with the Oregon Coast Military Museum says her daughter was exploited by the museum's manager, Geoffrey Cannon, who is on paid administrative leave.

The manager of the Oregon Coast Military Museum in Florence faces four felony counts of second-degree sexual abuse alleging a sexual relationship with an underage girl affiliated with the museum, according to court records and the girl’s family.

Florence police on July 10 arrested Geoffrey Cannon, 27, at the museum on suspicion of sex abuse, seizing evidence there obtained through a search warrant, according to a statement from police. 

Neither police nor court documents have specified the relationship between Cannon and the person he’s suspected of abusing. Florence police Chief John Pitcher in an email Wednesday said police “do not put information out that could ID the victim.”

However, family members of the girl told Lookout Eugene-Springfield the abuse began while she was affiliated with the museum. The girl, now 16, agreed to have some information about the case shared publicly, the girl’s aunt said.

“We have her consent to go public with this,” the aunt said. The aunt also provided a written statement from the girl’s mother.

“Our child deserved a safe, supportive place to learn and contribute; not to be exploited by someone in power,” the girl’s mother said in the statement.

Cannon faces four counts of second-degree sexual abuse, according to the indictment, which states the abuse began on or after Aug. 1, 2024. Second-degree sexual abuse is a Class C felony, which for each conviction carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison.

The museum opened in 2015, according to its website, and operates as a nonprofit organization. It’s relatively small in scale, reporting revenues of less than $70,000 in 2023, according to its most recent IRS return, and, according to its website, “is not government run, controlled or supported.”

Gary Cannon, the president of the organization’s board, said Geoffrey Cannon has been placed on paid administrative leave. Gary Cannon, reportedly the father of Geoffrey Cannon, said the decision about leave “went through the board,” and he declined to answer other questions.

The girl’s aunt said the family has been angered by the museum keeping Geoffrey Cannon employed and the reaction by some board members to concerns raised about his continued employment.

She provided audio of an informal meeting of museum board members and others that could not be independently verified by Lookout Eugene-Springfield.

The girl’s mother, in her written statement, said: “The museum’s failure to act decisively, and the board’s victim-blaming remarks, have only deepened our pain. No other young person should be put at risk under the guise of mentorship or service.”