CAMBY, Ind. — Court documents reveal that when a wife became suspicious that her husband was cheating on her, she stole his phone to search for proof.
What she allegedly found on the phone, however, was far worse than infidelity. Now, her discovery led to him being put in prison for what is likely the rest of his life.
Paul M. Soots, 42, is charged with 22 counts related to child molestation including several Level 1 felonies — the most serious criminal charge in Indiana outside of murder.
According to court documents, Hendricks County Sheriff’s deputies were called to Soots’ Camby home on March 22, 2023. Once deputies arrived, they were confronted by Soots’ wife who revealed her startling discovery.
Soots’ wife, who has since divorced him, told police she suspected her husband had been cheating on her so ended up searching his phone for proof. Located on the phone, however, were videos even more appalling, court documents claim.
Deputies reported reviewing the content of the phone and said images and video contained Soots committing sex acts on a child.
Deputies reportedly confronted Soots, who was asleep on the couch. He admitted the phone was his and deputies took him into custody.
Soots was scheduled to go to trial on June 24. The trial was canceled, however, after Soot agreed to sign a plea deal where he would plead guilty to one count of child molestation as a Level 1 felony and one count of child molestation as a Level 5 felony.
The plea agreement includes a prison term of 50 years.
At a court hearing on Wednesday, a judge accepted Soots’ plea agreement and the 50-year sentence.
“Today, Mr. Soots accepted the State’s plea offer of 50 years at the Indiana Department of Corrections which given his age is effectively a life sentence,” said Prosecutor Loren Delp. “In 2008, the U.S. Supreme Court held the death penalty to be “cruel and unusual punishment” for child rapists. While this may be the law of the land, and as prosecutors, we are duty bound to follow it, we may also respectfully disagree.”
The 50-year sentence is the maximum prison term allowed for a Level 1 felony in Indiana.