A Williamsburg man was sentenced to 20 years in prison Friday for a charge of sodomy against a child in his care.
David Wayne Mixon, now 53, agreed in March to a plea deal that reduced the 20 charges of sex offenses against the girl to a single count of child sodomy. Mixon offered an Alford plea, which is where a defendant pleads guilty in court but does not admit to actual guilt. The plea is an admission by Mixon that sufficient evidence exists to find him guilty.
“He stole this girl’s childhood for her and her family,” said Williamsburg-James City Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Cathy Black at Friday’s sentencing before WJCC Circuit Court Judge Michael McGinty. “He was a predator with easy prey.”
Mixon has been held at the Virginia Peninsula Regional Jail since his arrest in December 2011. Police had investigated Mixon after allegations he had abused a child for years.
Before sentencing, Mixon addressed the court and said he had accepted a plea to benefit everyone, including himself, and to alleviate some pain. He did not address his victim, although the prosecutor said she was in the courtroom. Mixon asked the judge to consider his honorable military service, as well as his subsequent work as a government contractor.
“The court takes into consideration not just the sexual act but who it involved: a child in your care. You violated that trust in a very dramatic way in the court’s opinion,” said McGinty.
McGinty suspended six of the 20 years, leaving Mixon 14 to serve. He has been ordered not to have contact with the victim and may not have any unsupervised contact with minors.
