EL RENO – A Canadian County jury on Dec. 4 unanimously found a Yukon man guilty of five counts of child sexual abuse. The jury recommended a life sentence on each count.
The charges stem from a series of horrific rapes that Paul Lewis Sims, 44, committed against a 15-year-old Yukon girl in 2016 and 2017.
Sims had been charged in April with five counts of child sexual abuse.
The victim told jurors that the abuse started in Morocco when she was 14 years old and continued upon their return to Yukon.
Jurors also heard testimony that Sims took the victim to Morocco and learned that he was being investigated by the Yukon Police Department and Department of Human Services while there.
In the days after learning of the investigation, testimony indicated Sims had the victim undergo two hymenoplasty procedures so that it would appear he had not sexually abused her.
Medical professionals testified that an examination of the victim revealed trauma to the vaginal area which was consistent with the procedure.
“I am grateful for the hard work that the Yukon Police Department put into this investigation,” Assistant District Attorney Eric Epplin said.
“Canadian County jurors showed they will not tolerate child sexual abuse by recommending the maximum punishment on each count. I am in awe of the courage and conviction shown by the victim in this case, who bravely confronted her abuser and disclosed the horrors she survived.”
Formal sentencing will be conducted Jan. 14, 2020 by District Judge Paul Hesse.
