FOND DU LAC COUNTY — A 58-year-old Ripon man received a 43-year sentence for sexually assaulting six children, the Fond du Lac County District Attorney announced Monday.
Terry Phelps pleaded Friday to six felony counts involving sexual assault and physical abuse of a child charges. A criminal complaint showed Phelps originally faced 43 counts related to the case.
According to a criminal complaint, Phelps would repeatedly spank the children, sexually abuse them and give them marijuana. Phelps was also accused of threatening and pressuring his victims into staying silent.
The criminal complaint says one victim told investigators she recalled being as young as five years old when Phelps started abusing her. According to details in the complaint, Phelps was known to the victims either through family or through a neighborhood babysitter with whom Phelps shared a residence.
Court records show Phelps entered an Alford Plea to a child sexual assault charge. He pleaded no contest to five other child abuse charges. An Alford Plea is not an admission of guilt but an admission that the evidence presented by the prosecution would show a strong proof of guilt if the case went before a jury or a judge.
In a news release, the Fond du Lac County District Attorney praised the victims for coming forward and sharing their stories with law enforcement.
