On January 4, 2023, Christopher Michael Chaviers, 51, of Boaz, received 2 life sentences, to run
consecutively, for his convictions of Rape in the 1 st Degree and Sodomy in the 1 st Degree. A DeKalb
County jury found Chaviers guilty of both charges following the November 14-15, 2022 trial. Circuit
Judge Jeremy Taylor presided over the trial and following Wednesday’s sentencing hearing, pronounced
Chaviers’s sentence.
Chaviers’s two prior felony convictions render him subject to the Habitual Felony Offender Act,
meaning that any subsequent Class A felony conviction would result in a minimum sentence of life
imprisonment. Rape 1 st Degree and Sodomy 1 st Degree are each Class A felonies. Often, conviction of
separate offenses results in imposition of separate sentences that run concurrently, meaning that they
begin and end at the same time. In this case, Judge Taylor elected to impose a life sentence for each
offense, and require that they run consecutively, guaranteeing that Chaviers will be in prison for the
remainder of his life.
One of Chaviers’s prior convictions is for Rape 2 nd Degree, a charge to which he pled guilty in
2010, and which already required him to register as a sex offender under the Alabama Sex Offender
Registration and Community Notification Act (SORNA). The November 2022 convictions likewise
require lifetime registration under SORNA.
The investigation was completed by Chief Investigator Nick Brown of the DeKalb County
Sheriff’s Office and prosecuted at trial by Deputy District Attorney Bob Johnston and Assistant District
Attorney Stanna Guice. Ms. Guice argued at the sentencing hearing for Chaviers to receive the
maximum sentence.
District Attorney Summer Summerford said, “On behalf of the victim and her family and all who
worked on this case, we are pleased with the sentence Judge Taylor imposed. These types of cases are
difficult to prosecute, not only due to the nature of the offense, but also because trial requires a victim to
relive the trauma of the event. It takes a very brave person to follow through to trial and sentencing, and
we are so proud of the heart and courage this victim showed in doing so. Her goal was to do everything
she could to ensure this man would never victimize anyone else, and her dedication to seeking justice is
an inspiration to us.”
Numerous agencies and individuals played a part in the investigation and prosecution, including the
James M. Barrie Center for Children in Gadsden; Tasha Galanty, Registered Nurse and Certified
Forensic Nurse Examiner with Family Services of North Alabama; Investigator Gary Williams with the
District Attorney’s
Office Major Crimes Unit; and Sheriff’s Office Chief Investigator Nick Brown. These contributors are
part of a multidisciplinary team that pools resources and advocacy practices to ensure child safety,
provide services to victims, and bring perpetrators of abuse to justice.