Life in Prison for Oklahoma Couple in ‘Horrifying’ Child Abuse Case
GARVIN COUNTY, OKLAHOMA – A married couple from Pauls Valley, Oklahoma have been sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole in a child abuse case that Oklahoma’s top state prosecutor described as “utterly appalling.”
25-year-old Gerrad Coddington and 30-year-old Christina Nelson-Coddington were sentenced by Garvin County District Judge Leah Edwards on 29 counts involving child abuse, lewd acts with a minor, and manufacturing child pornography.
Attorney General Mike Hunter gave a stern statement in hopes the case will send a strong message to others who consider committing crimes like these.
“These two individuals engaged in horrifying acts of abuse and violence with innocent children. These are evil people who present a danger to society. I commend Judge Edwards’ decision to hold them accountable to the fullest extent of the law.”
“I applaud the investigators with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, the investigator in my office with the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force and the attorneys who worked on this case to achieve a successful result,” Attorney General Mike Hunter said according to The Oklahoman.
Authorities began investigating the couple after the Attorney General’s Office was tipped off by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children with evidence that the Coddington’s shared a pornographic photo of a minor on social media.
The investigation found probable cause to arrest the Coddington’s after the tip was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations and Agents employed by the Attorney General’s Office, according to authorities.
More than 6,000 pages of the couple communicating and tens of thousands of videos and photos were uncovered by the investigation, authorities said.
The Coddington’s were criminally charged earlier this year in the summer of 2019, they both gave guilty pleas, and their sentences were decided by the judge.
There was evidence presented in court of juvenile victims being handcuffed, beaten, and raped, according to the state.
Gerrad and Christina Nelson-Coddington will now spend the rest of their lives in prison for these horrific crimes against children, and will never be eligible for parole.
