Washington CH man sentenced to life without parole in child rape case

A Washington Court House man was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole this week after pleading guilty in a child rape case.

Sims, 24, of Washington Court House, pleaded guilty in June to two counts of rape with a victim under 10 years of age, both first-degree felonies, and 19 counts of pandering obscenity involving a minor, each a felony of the second degree.

The charges in the indictment stemmed from alleged incidents occurring in February of this year, when Sims was charged with “engaging in sexual conduct” with a child victim and “creating, reproducing or publishing obscene material that had a minor as one of its participants or portrayed observers.” 

The indictment included a total of 39 counts, including another 14 counts of pandering obscenity involving a minor, all fourth-degree felonies, plus four fifth-degree felony counts of illegal use of a minor in nudity-oriented material or performance, which were dismissed. 

Fayette County Common Pleas Court Judge David Bender sentenced Sims July 13 to life without the possibility of parole on each of the rape charges, to be served concurrently to each other. According to the sentencing entry, Bender also sentenced Sims to a minimum mandatory term of four years and a maximum mandatory term of six years on each pandering obscenity count. Four of those sentences were ordered to be served consecutively to the life sentence, for a total of life in prison without parole plus 16-18 years. Sims had 104 days of jail time credit.

In addition to his life sentence, Sims is classified as a tier III sex offender, requiring registration every 90 days for life. 

Sims was admitted into the Correctional Reception Center in Orient July 16, according to the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction.