A Natrona County man convicted of beating a teenage girl with a phone charger cord as she slept received a probation sentence Friday.

Sergey Nicolayevich Simakov will serve two years of supervised probation in lieu of a three- to five-year prison sentence for a single count of child abuse. The sentence is the result of a plea deal with prosecutors.

According to an affidavit of probable cause, a Wyoming Department of Family Services investigator interviewed the victim at a school in February.. During the interview, the DFS investigator learned that Simakov hit the victim with a belt and electrical cord.

The affidavit says the victim described wearing a long-sleeve jacket to school so she could conceal her bruised arms. During a PE class, however, two of the victim's friends saw bruises on her back and arms.

On Feb. 14, DFS notified the Natrona County Sheriff's Office regarding the child's injuries. The investigator who handled the case knew Simakov from a previous abuse case in 2017.

In that case, Simakov was convicted of battery for punching a 17-year-old boy in the face several times. Simakov was convicted of battery and served probation.

Investigators spoke with employees of the victim's school and learned that she told school staff that Simakov beat her as she slept. The victim suffered bruises all over her back and the backs of her arms, the affidavit says.

Simakov told investigators that there was an incident with the victim because she was "being bad," and as a result of the girl's misbehavior, Simakov hit the victim with some type of cord, possibly a cell phone charging cord.

"(The investigator) asked Simakov if it was OK to hit children in the back or the back of their arms and he responded to both by saying, 'No,'" the affidavit says. "(The investigator) then asked, 'What is that called?' Simakov responded, 'Uh... Abuse.'"

Simakov's defense attorney, Keith Nachbar, said that his client was simply acting out of frustration with a "very defiant" child. Nachbar noted that Simakov voluntarily entered counseling as a result of the incident.

If Simakov violates the conditions of his probation, Natrona County District Court Judge Kerri M. Johnson could impose the suspended prison sentence.

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