Waters sentenced for child sexual abuse

A Sallisaw man has been sentenced in Sequoyah County District Court on several child sexual abuse charges following a Nov. 6 jury trial, according to court records.

Rusty J. Waters, 44, has been sentenced to 17 years on each charge of child sexual abuse (three counts) and on one count of first degree rape by instrumentation, with all but the first seven years suspended to run concurrently, in the Oklahoma Department of Corrections. Waters will also be placed under special supervision conditions for sex offenders upon his release from prison.

The incidents reportedly took place between 2012 and the present, with the multitude of charges being filed between December 2021 and April 2023.

According to the probable cause affidavit filed in the case, one of the victims was still in diapers when the alleged sexual abuse began. The victim told investigators that she wore diapers until she was about 6 or 7 years old because she wet the bed.

The offenses continued until the minors were reportedly 13 to 14 years old.

In the lewd molestation charge filed in April 2023, the probable cause affidavit states Waters was seen with a child under the age of 16 at a fast food restaurant at 1 a.m. in 2019, as reported by Sallisaw police.

Analyzation of a phone dump from Waters’ phone reportedly showed images of the minor and Waters alone together in a sexual manner. Authorities asked Waters to meet and talk with them and he said he would with his attorney, but never showed up, according to the affidavit.