Sentencing in Lewdness Case

Consecutive Life Terms Secured In Child Lewdness Prosecution

Washoe County District Attorney Chris Hicks has announced the outcome of a prosecution involving multiple counts of sexual abuse of a child.  The defendant was sentenced last Wednesday to consecutive life terms after having pled guilty to charges of lewdness with a minor.  The sentence ensures that 30 years must be served before parole eligibility begins. 

Thayne Waldman 48, with no fixed address in Washoe County pled guilty in September to three counts of Lewdness with a Child Under the Age of Fourteen Years and was sentenced in District Court by Judge Scott Freeman to three consecutive life terms in prison. Waldman was arrested in April following a lengthy and thorough investigation by the Sparks Police Department into allegations that a male relative had repeatedly molested juvenile females over the course of several years. When Sparks Police Department detectives interviewed Waldman, he admitted to having committed the sexual acts described by the victims.  Waldman was arrested and this office filed criminal charges against him.

At sentencing, Chief Deputy District Attorney Nicole Hicks argued that Waldman has committed the most horrific crimes against our most vulnerable victims.  He has caused both physical and emotional harm that may be with the girls for many years to come.  The family and one of the victims made emotional statements to the court. The father of four of the victims stated that “the damage …caused can not be measured in dollars and cents.  But with tears, anguish, doubt and uncertainty.”

The investigation and prosecution was coordinated through the Washoe County Child Advocacy Center (CAC) a multi-disciplinary team approach to child abuse cases.  The team consisted of the partner agencies of the Sparks Police Department, the Washoe County Child Abuse Response and Evaluation (CARES) team, Washoe County Human Services Agency, and the Washoe County District Attorney’s Office.

The CACs continuing mission is to safeguard the health and safety of children in our community who are victims of abuse through a neutral, child-centered environment. To date, over 1200 forensic interviews of children have been conducted. Since opening, over 100 life sentences have been secured against sexual and physical abusers of children.