Pauls Valley couple sentenced to life without parole in child abuse case

PAULS VALLEY – Attorney General Mike Hunter announced Tuesday the Pauls Valley couple who were charged over the summer with crimes relating to child abuse have each received a life sentence without the possibility of parole.

Garvin County District Judge Leah Edwards sentenced Gerrad Coddington, 25, and Christina Nelson-Coddington, 30, both of Pauls Valley, on all 29 counts relating to child abuse including first-degree rape, incest, child abuse, manufacturing child pornography and lewd acts with a minor, among others.

Hunter said the facts of the case were utterly appalling and hopes the sentence will send a strong message to those who consider committing these types of crimes.

“These two individuals engaged in horrifying acts of abuse and violence with innocent children,” Attorney General Hunter said. “These are evil people who presented a danger to society. I commend Judge Edwards’ decision to hold them accountable to the fullest extent of the law. I applaud the investigators with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, the investigator in my office with the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force and the attorneys who worked on this case to achieve a successful result.”

The investigation generated over 6,000 pages of communication between the co-defendants and tens of thousands of photos and videos. The state presented evidence that showed underage victims were beaten, handcuffed and raped. Evidence was also uncovered that both defendants had conspired to commit incest with his unborn child.

The Attorney General’s Office launched an investigation into the couple after the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children provided the office a tip containing information that the couple allegedly shared a pornographic image of a minor on a social media website.

Agents with the Attorney General’s Office, Homeland Security Investigations, Garvin County Sheriff’s Office and Pauls Valley Police Department investigated the tip and were able to develop probable cause to arrest the suspects within three days of receiving the tip.