BURLINGTON, Vt. – A Vermont man has been sentenced to 25 years in jail after being convicted of kidnapping a lady and her 4-year-old son, forcing them into her car outside a New Hampshire mall, and transporting them to Vermont while looking for his estranged wife.
Last year, a federal jury convicted Everett Simpson, 46, of two charges of kidnapping and two counts of interstate car theft. He represented himself during the trial and at his sentencing on Monday. An email seeking comment from his stand-by public defender was received on Tuesday.
The sentencing “closes a dark period in two victims’ lives and hopefully allows their healing process to continue and provides a sense of security to them and others,” U.S. Attorney for Vermont Nikolas Kerest said in a statement.
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Simpson testified to the jury that he left a Vermont drug treatment center shortly after being dropped off on the night of January 4, 2019, for court-ordered substance addiction treatment in another case.
He took a van parked in a nearby driveway and drove it to Manchester, New Hampshire, where it was abandoned the following day. Simpson admitted driving back to White River Junction, Vermont, with the alleged victim and her kid in the car. But he stated the woman had agreed to do so and that she had the option to leave if she chose.
“I am guilty of a lot of things, but not kidnapping,” Simpson admitted in court last year.
The mother and infant were brought to a Vermont motel. Simpson then drove the victim’s automobile to Pennsylvania, where he was later caught.
According to court filings, the woman was sexually attacked while at the motel, although sexual assault was not included in the federal accusations. Simpson, however, is facing separate state sexual assault accusations.
Simpson claimed he departed the treatment clinic to find his estranged wife, whom he suspected was having an affair with another guy.
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In 2020, the woman earned $400,000 as part of a lawsuit settlement charging the state of Vermont of failing to do enough to find Simpson after he fled the treatment institution. The woman also stated that she had gotten a significant payment from the treatment clinic, albeit the exact sum is unknown.
Victim impact statements were filed under secrecy in the federal case because they contained personal information regarding victims of violent crimes, as well as statements from or about them, according to ABC news. Sentencing memoranda from both sides were likewise secret.
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