BURLINGTON, Vermont (TCN) — A 46-year-old man who kidnapped a woman and her child outside a shopping mall in New Hampshire, sexually assaulted the mother and left them in Vermont has been sentenced to 25 years in prison.
The Vermont District Attorney's Office announced Monday, June 17 that Everett Simpson will serve 300 months in prison and five years of post-release supervision. Simpson was convicted in April 2023 of two counts of kidnapping and two counts of transporting a stolen vehicle.
According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, on Jan. 4, 2019, Simpson fled a treatment facility in Vermont and was required to remain as part of bail conditions related to another case. But he left less than a day later. On the morning of June 5, 2019, Simpson stole a van from the facility and fled to New Hampshire. He later abandoned the car in a parking lot in downtown Manchester and went to the New Hampshire Mall.
While at the mall, he allegedly “forced his way into a young woman's car,” pushed her into the front seat and drove away with her 4-year-old child in the back seat. Simpson returned to Vermont with the woman and child who were being held against their will. Prosecutors said Simpson had been searching for his estranged wife in Vermont, but he had given up. Simpson sexually assaulted his mother multiple times in the car and at the hotel.
Simpson rescued the mother and child, but then stole their car and fled the state again. Law enforcement caught up with him in Pennsylvania and arrested him after two chases. After the first chase, he reportedly stole another car.
Vermont District Attorney Nikolas Kerest said: “The defendant's crimes were violent, random in nature and extremely serious. The full convictions last April and today's sentencing bring to an end a dark period in the lives and lives of both victims. Please allow their healing process to continue. “I hope we can allow that and provide them and others with a sense of security, knowing that our community will be protected from this defendant for many years to come.”
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