Vermont man convicted of kidnapping mother, son

BURLINGTON, Vt. — A Vermont man accused of kidnapping a woman and her 4-year-old son and sexually assaulting the mother was convicted on Tuesday.

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According to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Vermont, Everett A. Simpson, 45, formerly of St. Johnsbury, was found guilty on two counts of federal kidnapping and two counts of interstate transportation of stolen vehicles.

The federal charges against Simpson did not include sexual assault, according to The Associated Press. He is facing separate state sexual assault charges, according to the news organization.

Prosecutors alleged that on Jan. 4, 2019, Simpson left a drug treatment facility in Bradford, Vermont, and stole a commercial van in Newbury, WCAX-TV reported. Simpson allegedly drove the stolen vehicle to Manchester, New Hampshire, where he parked it in a garage the next day, prosecutors said. Simpson allegedly kidnapped the woman and her son in the parking lot of the Mall of New Hampshire, the news release stated.

Simpson then allegedly drove the two victims back to Vermont in the woman’s vehicle and attempted to locate his estranged wife, according to the news release.

After abandoning his search for his wife, Simpson allegedly sexually assaulted the woman in the vehicle and at a hotel in White River Junction, WPTZ-TV reported. He eventually released the victims and drove to Delaware County, Pennsylvania, where he was arrested after two “high-speed chases,” prosecutors said.

During the second chase, Simpson had abandoned the woman’s car and was driving a third vehicle he had stolen, prosecutors said.

Simpson faces a minimum of 20 years in prison and could be sentenced to life, according to the news release. Sentencing will come at a later date.

“The crimes committed by Everett Simpson are of the worst variety; Simpson preyed on random victims, including a child,” U.S. Attorney Nikolas P. Keres said in a statement. “And, although the harms suffered by Everett Simpson’s victims are indelible, today’s across-the-board guilty verdict represents a significant step in holding Everett Simpson responsible for the heinous crimes he committed on Jan. 5, 2019.”