Marion County Jury Finds Man Guilty Of Child Sexual Abuse
-07/09/25
Today, a Marion County Jury convicted Maury Wayne Pearson, 6/28/1956, of one count of Sodomy in the First Degree after a three-day jury trial. Marion County Circuit Court Judge Audrey Broyles presided over the case, and the case was prosecuted by Marion County Deputy District Attorneys Meghan Kamps and Matthew Estrada.
The next date is a status conference on 7/14/2025 at 8:30 for parties to pick a sentencing date.
Due to the victim being under the age of 12 and the offender over the age of 18 at the time of the offense, Sodomy in the First Degree carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 25 years in prison.
The case was investigated by the Marion County Sheriff’s Office. Due to the pending sentencing date no further information will be released at this time.
Salem Man Receives 20 Years In Prison For Sexually Assaulting Two Women
-07/01/25
On July 1, 2025, Marion County Circuit Court Judge Audrey Broyles sentenced Salem resident Felix Flores, age 40, to 20 years in prison for Sodomy in the First Degree, Rape in the First Degree, Attempted Rape in the First Degree, and Kidnapping in the First Degree. Mr. Flores will also be required to register as a sex offender.
These convictions arise out of two incidents with two different victims. In each, Flores went into a local community business and forcibly sexually assaulted the female employees after kidnapping them by moving them to a different location inside their workplace.
Deputy District Attorney Katharine Semple, who prosecuted the case, argued that Flores displayed no remorse nor insight into his predatory behavior. She pointed to Flores’ racist, degrading comments about his victims during his police interview and subsequent statements as additional reasons Flores deserved a significant sentence.
“We must continue to protect local businesses and those working hard to simply live their lives,” said Chief Deputy District Attorney Brendan Murphy. “I am thankful for DDA Semple’s hard, dedicated work on this and other serious cases.”
At the sentencing when Judge Broyles imposed the 20-year prison sentence, she told Flores that he was not only the victims’ worst nightmare, but he was “the community’s worst nightmare.”
The Marion County District Attorney’s Office would like to thank the Salem Police Department and lead Detective Sabrina Hunter for their excellent work on this case.