An Augusta man convicted last week of sexual assault charges accused the prosecutor and judge of defrauding him Monday, March 28 as he was sentenced to life in prison plus 30 years.
Judge John Flythe imposed the maximum penalties on 47-year-old Nicholas Mims whose victim told a Richmond County Superior Court jury last week that he had raped her repeatedly from her 16th birthday in 2014 through 2018.
It was a relief, she told the judge Monday, that it was finally out in the open. Mims had told her that she was crazy, that no one would believe her. She had felt destroyed for so long. She went from being on the honor roll and playing on high school sports teams to being a high school dropout, she said.
It wasn’t until after she was charged with cruelty to children and a DNA test was done to determine if there was a genetic cause for the baby’s medical condition that it was revealed that Mims was the biological father of the child.
Mims told the jury last week that he was the rape victim. “I never harmed anybody. I was truly the victim here,” Mims said Monday. He blamed the prosecutor, the judge and his own defense attorney for the conviction.
“I do not consent to sentencing,” he said in a written statement composed of legalese that made little sense. When the judge asked Mims what the statement meant, he paused for a time then said it meant he was defrauded.
Assistant District Attorney William Hammond asked Flythe to impose the maximum penalty on Mims. He intentionally kept the victim isolated from others to control her. She had hoped for a loving relationship with Mims, but instead he began abusing her within months, Hammond said.
Mims had no prior criminal record. His mother and an ex-wife told the judge Monday he had always maintained steady employment and supported his family.
Sandy Hodson is a staff reporter covering courts for The Augusta Press. Reach her at sandy@theaugustapress.com.
