JAY, Okla. – A Grove man charged with three sexual assaults on children pleaded guilty and received up to 25 years in prison, but will only serve five years.
Thomas Daniels, 37, was charged in 2019 with first-degree rape, lewd or indecent acts to a child under 12, and lewd molestation in Delaware County District Court..
According to court records, two of the victims were under the age of eight.
As part of his guilty plea on Dec. 21, Daniels will be allowed to serve the sentences concurrently, and 20 years of the sentence will be suspended. He also receives credit for time served, which translates to 1,139 days he spent in jail, according to authorities.
Once released, Daniels must register as a sex offender and have no contact with the victims.
Doctors diagnosed Daniels with “moderate intellectual disabilities” and at one time he was a ward of the state and placed in an Alternative Group Home in Sallisaw.
According to a March 2021 status report, Daniels “had not achieved competence to stand trial.” But on April 13, 2022, a year later, he was then found competent to stand trial and his bail set at $200,000.
Prior to his competency hearing, the 2021 report showed Daniels posed “a high risk of reoffending due to his history and diagnoses” and “is still considered dangerous if released into a non-secure environment.”
He required 24-hour supervision “and should always be in line-of-sight in his home and staff should be aware of his whereabouts at all times,” according to a status report. While in the community, Daniels was to be supervised within two to three feet, the report states. While at the Sallisaw group home, Daniels began the sex offender treatment program, the report states.
