Man found not guilty after being imprisoned for 5 years, accused of killing boy in 2017

CHARLOTTE — Christopher Sims was released from prison five years after he was arrested, accused of killing his girlfriend’s son.

A jury found Sims not guilty of murder last week after a trial that lasted nearly three weeks.

Sims, of Charlotte, told Channel 9 anchor Allison Latos that he wants his reputation restored.

“Everything about me now, when you Google my name, is about this case,” Sims said. “No more. I was a football player. No football pictures pop up.”

Instead, website search engines show Sims, a man accused of killing a child.

Police accused Sims in 2017 of abusing his girlfriend’s two-year-old son, A’dan Blackmon, so badly that the child died from a traumatic brain injury.

Sims was charged with first-degree murder and intentional child abuse resulting in serious bodily injury.

Last week, a Mecklenburg County jury found Sims not guilty on both counts.

“I couldn’t hear anything after they said ‘not guilty.’ Everything flooded out,” Sims said.

The Mecklenburg County district attorney told Channel 9, “We respect the jury’s verdict, as well as the efforts of our prosecutors to bring forth available evidence and to give voice to A’dan, whose life ended far too soon.”

Channel 9 also learned that in 2017, the department of social services investigated reports of possible abuse of A’dan twice, but the results did not confirm abuse.

“Children are not responsible for protecting themselves. It’s the adult’s responsibility to protect them,” said Shawna Pagano, with Pat’s Place Advocacy Center.

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Pagano said anyone who suspects child abuse needs to sound the alarm as many times as it takes.

The public can contact social services, law enforcement, and call 911 or the tip line.

Civil rights activist John Barnett said Sims will be back in a courtroom after filing a civil lawsuit.

“I believed in him from day one,” Barnett said.

In 2017, DSS said it conducted a review of how it handled the reports about possible abuse of A’dan.

Editor’s note: A previous version of the story had an incorrect first name for Christopher Sims. We apologize for the error.

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