A Cherokee County man was sentenced Monday to 23 years behind bars for the rape of a teenage girl whose family took him in.
Randall “Chris” Evans, 36, pleaded guilty just before jury selection began in his case, according to the Cherokee County District Attorney’s Office. He was scheduled to stand trial this week in the May 2017 assault.
Senior Assistant District Attorney Holly Varner, who prosecuted the case, said Evans had fallen on hard times and the victim’s family was offering him assistance.
“He repaid their kindness by violating an innocent girl, asleep in her bed,” she said in a statement. “He also threatened to harm the rest of the family if she didn’t keep quiet during the attack.”
Evans pleaded guilty to rape and two counts of molesting a child under the age of 16. He was sentenced to life with the first 23 years to be served in prison and the rest on probation.
Evans has no possibility of parole during his 23-year prison stint, prosecutors said.
“The pain this child and her family have endured is unfathomable,” District Attorney Shannon Wallace said in a statement. “Our homes should be safe havens where our children can feel secure and protected. No one should have to experience something like this.”
Wallace said Evans’ sentence will ensure he “will not have the opportunity to hurt another child in this way.”
In other news:
About the Author
