An 80-year-old Laramie man who slashed his own neck and partially disemboweled himself while police tried to arrest him for molesting an 8-year-old was sentenced to between six and eight years in prison.
A deputy wheeled John Silva, 80, into the court room and tucked his wheelchair and legs under the defense table. There Silva sat motionless, wearing a green button-up shirt, a long graying goatee and low ponytail.
His public defense attorney, David Korman, arrived and helped Silva attach a hearing aid device to his ear so he could understand court proceedings.
Albany County Deputy Attorney Becky Farley asked the judge to ban Silva from contacting his young victim, and she urged the judge against giving Silva probation for such an “egregious” crime.
“The victim needs more time to heal. Society needs more time to heal as well,” said Farley, adding that Silva “should have been protecting her and keeping her safe, not causing harm.”
Farley, and later Judge Misha Westby, both referenced a letter the victim wrote ahead of sentencing, in which she reportedly described Silva finding ways to isolate her from her siblings and take advantage of her, how she struggled to rationalize why this had to happen to her, and in which she said she felt guilty and confused.
“She’s now going to have to deal with trust issues her whole life,” said Farley, adding that the girl has received counseling and good support from her family. “I know she’s going to have to work through a lot, but she’s very bright and I believe she still will be a successful young lady, and she will get through this.”
The original affidavit says social workers referred the little girl June 2, 2023, to the Laramie Police Department because of allegations an older man had sexually abused her from about 2021 to 2022.
The girl reportedly told her forensic interviewer of the man engaging in inappropriate touching and oral sexual contact with her.
All she wanted was for Silva to be in jail until she could move away, she said.
In one instance the girl reportedly tried to kick Silva away and he pushed her knees down so she couldn’t.
Police arrived at Silva’s home to request an interview June 15. A woman answered the door while Silva retreated into the bathroom, for the next 33 minutes at least, says the affidavit.
Finally, a woman went into the bathroom to intervene, and when she did, she yelled for someone to call an ambulance. Then she took a large bloody knife from Silva and dropped it on the washing machine, says the document.
“Let me die, let me die,” Silva reportedly said.
He lay in the bathtub still clothed, bleeding from the left side of his neck and the front of his stomach. A small portion of his intestines protruded through his stomach wall, the affidavit says.
Police deemed these wounds to be self inflicted.
“You think I wanna, you think of what they done to me in prison,” he said, adding, “F*** no. I ain’t gonna live.”
He was raped and sodomized in prison, Silva said, referencing a previous incarceration stint.
Laramie Child Molester Who Disemboweled Himself Gets 6-8 Years In Prison
An 80-year-old Laramie man who partially disemboweled himself when police came to interview him about molesting an 8-year-old girl was sentenced Wednesday to between six and eight years in prison.
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He was previously incarcerated for touching a 7yo girl inappropriately in 2005.