By Jeremy D. Wells
Carter County Times
The family of a young woman who was sexually abused by a youth leader from her church agreed to accept the terms of a plea deal for her abuser on Monday afternoon; but not before emphasizing the damage he had caused. The family also explained that their motivation for accepting the plea was to spare the young woman the additional trauma of testifying before a jury.
Shandon Bradley Wiler, 26, pleaded guilty to charges of first degree sodomy, procuring or promoting use of a minor by electronic means, and two counts of first degree sexual abuse. As part of the plea deal four additional charges of first degree sexual abuse were dropped in exchange for his guilty plea to the other charges.
Judge Rebecca Phillips, following the terms of the deal, sentenced Wiler to 10 years on the sodomy charge, and five years each on the other three charges. Those sentences will all run concurrently, meaning Wiler will effectively serve ten years and could be eligible for parole after eight and a half years – Phillips emphasized that due to the nature of his offense he must serve at least 85 percent of the sentence and must complete sex offender treatment before he would be eligible for any conditional release. He will also be required to register as a sex offender after release.
At least one family member, however, said they will be petitioning to have Wiler serve the remainder of his sentence on a manslaughter charge related to the 2019 automobile crash death of an Ohio woman.
A man who identified himself as the grandfather of the victim gave a tearful thanks to law enforcement for their assistance before noting how much his granddaughter has changed over the last two years.
“She’s shattered,” he told Wiler, who served as a youth leader at the family’s previous church, the Stinson Church of Christ. “She now questions if there is a God, and why he allowed this.”
The grandfather told Wiler that he wanted to make sure he spent as much time behind bars as possible, noting his conditional release in the 2019 vehicular manslaughter case and that he would be contacting the Ohio court system. The grandfather also told Wiler he didn’t believe that his granddaughter was the only victim, but that others were too traumatized to come forward.
He also noted that he has spoken to his elected representatives, like Senator Robin Webb, and inquired about the possibility of a law to require anyone working with youth in a church setting to be subject to a criminal background check. He also pointed out a second case involving a youth pastor from the same church – Upenyu Gogo was arrested nine months after Wilder, when police caught him in a vehicle with an unclothed minor and charged him with third degree sodomy and procuring or promoting use of a minor by electronic means, among other charges.
“They mention the costs,” the grandfather said. “But it’s a small price to prevent this.”
The grandmother of the victim noted that her granddaughter has had episodes of self-harm – though the grandfather noted in his comments those actions were improving – and is on medications for anxiety, night terrors, and other issues related to the abuse.
The parents of the victim also addressed Wiler, both choking back tears during their statements.
“I never imagined you were a child molester,” the father said, noting that Bradley, as Wiler was known to them, had emotionally scarred his daughter for life.
The mother of the victim, however, was more direct.
“There is no justification for your evil actions,” she told Wiler. “You abused your position of trust… to exploit children.”
“Unfortunately, someday you will be released,” she continued, telling Wiler she didn’t believe there was any chance of redemption and that she felt he should never be allowed around any children again – even his own.
She also noted that the family’s current church requires background checks for anyone working with youth.
Although the parents and grandparents did identify themselves before addressing the court, the Carter County Times does not make a practice of publicly identifying the minor victims of crimes. Identifying the parents and grandparents in this case could lead to exposing the identity of the victim, so we have identified them by their relation to the child alone.
Contact the writer at editor@cartercountytimes.com
