After hearing Henry Sims' statement Friday, Judge Walter Braud found that the East Moline man was not remorseful for the June 15, 2008, death of his girlfriend, Erin Waeyaert, and sentenced him to 16 years in prison.
Braud made it a point to note that Sims was not one of the "worst of the worst" and therefore did not give him the maximum sentence of 25 years.
A Rock Island County jury convicted Sims in June on felony counts of involuntary manslaughter and leaving the scene of an accident. He will serve two consecutive eight-year sentences on the two counts.
According to Braud, Waeyaert thought Sims was seeing another girl and took her van back without Sims' detection. He then went to her and her mother's house, also in East Moline, to take the van back, but she saw him before he could get away and grabbed on.
Waeyaert, 24, was standing on the passenger-side running board of the van as Sims drove down some streets near her mother's home. Braud said he was going at a high rate of speed when she fell in the 300 block of 13th Street and died from her injuries.
Before he was sentenced Sims apologized to both Waeyaerts' family and friends and his own. The courtroom was full with around 40 people.
"June 15 was a bad mistake for both sides," Sims said. "I apologize to the family."
Sims accused the prosecution of being corrupt by pursuing a murder conviction against him at trial. The Rock Island County State's Attorney's office argued that he tried to knock Waeyaert off the vehicle.
Assistant Rock Island County State's Attorney Norma Kauzlarich asked Braud for the maximum sentence and cited Sims' lengthy criminal history, which includes other offenses against women, as part of her argument.
She also noted that Sims has a poor employment record. Sims' attorney Jack Schwartz argued for a lower sentence saying that Sims should not be separated from his family for too long.
Braud also heard from Waeyaert's brother, Andrew Waeyaert, who noted that Sims never stopped to check on his sister when she fell from the van.
"God did not take Erin away from us, Henry Sims did," he said. "Along with her he took away a part of us."
When announcing his sentence, Braud noted that Sims knew his actions were likely to cause serious harm to Waeyaert and agreed with the prosecution that Sims had developed a pattern of behavior in which he was cruel to women, drove recklessly and used drugs.
In the end, the judge focused on Sims' statement and said he was looking for remorse to see if Sims was less likely to commit a similar crime in the future.
"You still are telling me how this victim jumped on her car and it's somehow her fault," the judge said, adding Sims had plenty of time to stop.
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