Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
TOOELE COUNTY -- A man convicted of beating a 12-year-old boy for nearly 10 hours and then attempting to rape his younger sister was sentenced to 31 years to life in prison. Willie Phillips was also fined and ordered to pay restitution.
Phillips was convicted in June of first-degree felony aggravated sexual abuse of a child and attempted rape of a child. He also pleaded guilty to intentionally inflicting serious injury to a child, which is a second-degree felony.
Prior to sentencing, the children addressed the judge. The female victim had her foster mother read a statement in court. The statement said, in part, "You have separated us from our siblings. You deserve everything the judge decides. You have taken away my childhood. You have tortured all of us."
Tooele County Attorney Doug Hogan said, "I am very proud of those kids, very proud of those kids. There are cases that never get this far because kids are scared and they end up being victims, or they become victims over and over again. The bravery of that little boy and that little girl, I haven't seen anything like it."
During the sentencing hearing, the children were standing about five feet away from Phillips. The only time Phillips looked at them was when they turned around and walked away.
The bravery of that little boy and that little girl, I haven't seen anything like it.
–Tooele County Attorney Doug Hogan
The children are currently in foster care, and the foster parents are hoping to adopt them.
Phillips received the maximum sentence for his crime, and the prosecution anticipates Phillips will try to appeal the case.
In December 2008 Phillips severely beat the 12-year-old boy by repeatedly stepping on his chest and picking him up by the hair and hitting his head against the kitchen counter. He did this several times over a period of 10 hours.
That same night, he attempted to rape his 11-year-old sister, and even covered her face with a pillow so she couldn't breathe.
Shortly after the incident, he fled Utah and was caught four months later by U.S. Marshals in Louisiana.
E-mail: spark@ksl.com
