CASE OF INTEREST

Date:       September 1, 2004

Case:       People v Stephanie Elizabeth Sims 
              98F06895

Contact:  Alfonso M. Cedillo
              Deputy District Attorney
              Telephone: 874-8750

Sacramento County District Attorney Jan Scully announced today that Judge Michael T. Garcia found 38-year-old Stephanie Elizabeth Sims guilty of Parental Child Abduction and sentenced her to the upper term of four (4) years in State Prison. Factors in aggravation existed in the case: the child’s name had been changed several times, she did not receive regular schooling, and for five years was in a very unstable living environment while the defendant concealed her during the 5 year run from law enforcement.

Last September 30, 2003 a 5-year manhunt for Sims ended with her arrest by the Scranton Police Department in the State of Pennsylvania.  Sims was a wanted fugitive on criminal charges for Parental Child Abduction, which were filed by the Sacramento District Attorney’s Office in August of 1998. 

Deputy District Attorney Alfonso Cedillo indicated that suspect Sims, using a ruse, abducted her then 4-year-old daughter during a supervised visitation at McKinley Park pool on August 4, 1998.  The District Attorney’s Child Abduction Unit launched a manhunt for the capture of suspect Sims that has involved multiple law enforcement agencies in different states, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, media coverage on programs such as America’s Most Wanted, as well as the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Cedillo indicates that it was the great dedication and exhaustive work of Investigators Maloney, Bayly and Hurtado over the years, which lead to the successful locating and recovery of the child.

The now ten year child was returned to California to the father’s custody in accordance with the court custody orders in place.