Man Pleads Guilty to Impregnating Underage Girl

Sylva -- A Sylva man will spend 20 years in prison after pleading guilty to having a relationship with an underage

 girl which led to her pregnancy.

District Attorney Ashley Hornsby Welch said 35-year-old Shawn Standingdeer pleaded guilty on March 10 in Jackson County Superior Court to a total of six felony charges. Welch said the charges were consolidated to statutory rape of a child less than 15 years of age.

Officials said DNA proved Standingdeer was the father of the child, which was born in 2021.

Chief Resident Superior Court Judge Bradley B. Letts sentenced Standingdeer to 20 years in prison, with a maximum of 29 years.

He is also not allowed to contact the child's mother or the mother's family.