PHOENIX, July 13 (UPI) -- Minuteman border vigilante group co-founder Chris Simcox has been sentenced to nearly 20 years in prison for molesting a 5-year-old girl.
Simcox, 55, a co-founder of the now disbanded group, was found guilty last month of two counts of child molestation and one count of providing obscene material to a minor. He was also found not guilty of three counts of sexual contact with a 6-year-old girl.
On Monday, he was sentenced to 19 years and six months in prison.
Simcox is divorced, and molested the 5-year-old friend of his daughter during scheduled parental visits in 2012 and 2013.
The girl told her mother of the molestation and Simcox was arrested.
"The defendant committed unconscionable acts against a young child, the emotional and psychological effects of which she'll have to deal with her entire life," said Maricopa County attorney, Bill Montgomery in a statement. He also said the sentence "won't take back the harm he has done, but it removes the opportunity for him to prey on another child."
Simcox, who acted as his own attorney argued during the trial the accusations were part of a conspiracy against him. He chose not to speak on Monday during the sentencing.
The sentence ends a three-year drama that included a separate court fight over whether Simcox would be allowed to cross-examine the two girls. He eventually dropped his plan earlier this year.
