The Devil You Know

3.5/5 ( ratings)

On a foggy night on March 10, 1990, in Westport, Indiana,
twelve-year-old Brad Maddux strolled over to a pickup truck to chat with his
twenty-eight-year-old cousin, Douglas Sims. Brad was never seen again.
It was
the following night that Brad's family and friends noted his disappearance. As
the small community searched frantically for Brad, officers questioned Douglas
Sims several times. It was not until Sims was interviewed, using tactics by a
seasoned investigator, did they learn the horrific truth: Sims had murdered
Brad in a horrifying way, and buried his body in a place of symbolism and fear.
Worse, Douglas Sims spoke of his crime as if it were of no concern. It changed
the way an entire community behaved: people began to lock their doors and guard
their children, even when the devil was locked away in prison.

It was called "the worst crime Decatur County had ever seen"
but this was not the end of the horror. Douglas Sims received a sentence the
community felt was "a joke," as one investigator believed. As the truth came
out, mild-mannered and friendly neighbor Douglas Sims, who never even raised
his voice, was exposed as a predator, a pedophile that preyed on the community
children right before their parent's eyes. Years later, he derided the dead boy
in a shocking display before the parole board that left hardened officers
stunned.

This is the brutal, heartbreaking true story of the crime
and punishment of a monster that preyed on the most vulnerable victims of all,
a little boy who trusted, a community that refused to believe evil lurked among
them, and of the law enforcement officers who brought a child killer to
justice.

A portion of proceeds of this book will be donated to a
nonprofit organization in the victim's name.