Michael Ray Adams, Former El Paso Co. Tax Analyst, Sentenced To 66 Years For Sexually Abusing Three Children

A former El Paso County budget analyst has been convicted on 35 counts stemming from sexual assault on at least three girls. Yesterday he was sentenced in the 4th Judicial District to 66 years to life.

Thirty-nine year old Michael Ray Adams was arrested last year when his wife walked in on him assaulting one of his victims. The victim claimed that Adams molested her for six years, while another girl claimed that Adams molested her once.

All three girls who were assaulted were under the age of 15 and their names are being witheld to protect their identities.

One child had reported the molestations as far back as 2004, but Adams and another one of his victims denied it at the time. It wasn't until last year that Adams was caught assaulting that second victim that he was arrested and charged.

Adams had been a sales tax analyst for El Paso County--a county that's also seeing a spike in overall child abuse cases--but was fired after the allegations surfaced.

According to the National Center for Victims of Crime (NCVC), it's not uncommon for children to resist reporting cases of sexual abuse because, "they are afraid of angering the offender, blame themselves for the abuse or feel guilty and ashamed."

"We have to go on what the kids tells us and that can be frustrating at times," program manager at Safe Passage Tammi Pitzen told KKTV. Safe Passage is a child advocacy group that aids investigations into child sex abuse in El Paso and Teller County.

Adams even filmed some of the sexual assaults, according to the Gazette, and told one of his victims that if she didn't give him what he wanted he would share footage of the tape.

During the sentencing, District Judge David A. Gilbert reprimanded Adams for treating his victims as "toys" and "slaves."

"You betrayed those children," Judge Gilbert said.