A federal jury convicted a Sapulpa man Thursday of sexually abusing two victims who were under the age of 12.
The jury found Andrew Lee Gibbs, 64, guilty of abusive sexual contact of a minor in Indian Country and aggravated sexual abuse of a minor in Indian Country.
The jury found that on March 7, 2021, Gibbs knowingly touched the first victim in a sexual manner. They further found that on the same day, the defendant sexually abused a second child, who was also under the age of 12.
After the sexual assaults, one of the children broke away from Gibbs, and eventually ran up to a man in a restaurant parking lot, told him that the defendant did an “unsafe touch,” and begged the man for help.
The man, who happened to be a Homeland Security Investigations special agent with 10 years of experience working crimes against children, then called 911.
Gibbs soon arrived, but the child accused him of abuse. He left then returned a few minutes later with the child’s mother. When she heard of the abuse, she removed her remaining children from his vehicle.
A Child Abuse Forensic Interviewer later spoke with both victims who stated that Gibbs, an adult they had trusted, sexually abused them in his vehicle during an outing to a park. Following the visit to the park, Gibbs took the children to a nearby store where one ran away and sought help.
“A victim of Andrew Gibbs bravely reported his predatory acts and, along with her sister, testified against him in federal court,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Clint Johnson. “It is extremely difficult for children to reveal the details of their sexual abuse to anyone, let alone a courtroom of strangers. I commend both the victims for their courage. When children report abuse, adults should listen and report to authorities.”
Gibbs remains in the custody and will be sentenced on Feb. 18, 2022.
The FBI and Tulsa Police Department conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Valeria Luster and Chantelle D. Dial are prosecuting the case.
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