Mr. Simcoxs trial took several unexpected turns. Although he is not a lawyer, Mr. Simcox represented himself and sought to question the girls he was accused of molesting.
Prosecutors brought in an expert to address the trauma it could cause the girls, and they took action in lower courts to block Mr. Simcox, eventually filing a petition that is now before the United States Supreme Court and could have an impact on future case law.
Mr. Simcox allowed his advisory attorney to question the girls instead.
Mr. Simcox was a high-profile advocate of tougher control of borders and undocumented day laborers. He was a founder of a volunteer armed watch group, Civil Homeland Defense, which was created after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, and which intercepted undocumented immigrants crossing into Arizona, turning them over to the authorities.
Later, he helped form the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps, which stepped into the national spotlight in 2005 with its border patrols. In 2012, Mr. Simcox told the Southern Poverty Law Center, which was investigating the possible involvement of extremist groups in the killings of Mexicans crossing the Arizona border, that he had left the movement and was living a quiet life tutoring schoolchildren in suburban Phoenix.
The victims mother, speaking to reporters after the hearing, said her daughter had not spoken much about the incidents but had great support from her family, according to the Arizona Republic. She said she had recently asked her daughter if she wanted to make a victim impact statement for the sentencing.
The only thing she said was, He messed with the wrong family, the mother said.
When asked for her opinion of Mr. Simcox, the woman said she viewed him in the same way I would view anybody who did what he did to my child Im glad hes gone.
