CHARLESTON W.Va. — A Kanawha County man will be behind bars for the rest of his life after being sentenced Tuesday for sexually assaulting and abusing two young boys.
Kanawha County Circuit Judge Dan Greear sentenced Jeffrey Phipps, 47, of Charleston, after last month’s conviction by a Kanawha County jury on 25 separate counts.
“Those children suffered something that we will never understand,” Debra Rusnak, the Kanawha County assistant prosecutor on the case, said. “That gave us the reason, that gave us the energy and everything else that we needed to go along with this, to make this trial go the way it did.”
“We were very dedicated to this case. We really wanted the outcome that we got and that made every bit of the work we put into it worth it.”
Rusnak said the sentence was one of the harshest she has seen in her career. In total, Judge Greear sentenced Phipps to 165 years to 655 years in prison.
Greear said during the sentencing while he has not been a judge for long, he hopes to never see a case of this nature come through the system again.
During the sentencing, Phipps continued to deny the charges when he was given a chance to speak. He criticized his own attorney as well, stating he hasn’t done anything for him.
“I’m not surprised by his actions,” Rusnak said. “That has been his attitude and behavior throughout the trial so I am not surprised one bit by his behavior today.”
“I would just like the citizens of Kanawha County to know that these things will not go unpunished and that the Kanawha County prosecuting attorney’s office takes these crimes very seriously and we will prosecute them to the fullest extent of our ability.”
The victims, now 9 and 6, both testified in front of a 12-member jury in September that Phipps, who was known by the family, assaulted them inside a Charleston East side residence in 2016.
Phipps was transported back to the South Central Regional Jail.