Andrew Fordham claimed it was an accident when he poured acid on 44-year-old Christy Sims' (pictured) face in 2013. A jury on Friday found otherwise.
A Georgia woman who was left disfigured in an acid attack by her then-boyfriend is calling his guilty a verdict a victory for not just her but all victims of domestic violence.
A jury convicted Andrew Fordham Friday of one count of aggravated assault and two counts of aggravated battery for the savage 2013 attack which left Christy Sims with burns covering 20% of her body.
The brave, 44-year-old divorced mother of two expressed relief over the verdict but confessed that she's not yet fully healed, nor is her fight entirely over.
"You'd expect for me to be overjoyed or whatever but it's not my nature to rejoice in someone else's demise," she told the Daily News. "I kind of feel like no one won because I have permanent burns ... and this man has lost his life."
Fordham was convicted of one count of aggravated assault and two counts of aggravated battery. He faces up to 20 years behind bars on each count.
Sims' legal triumph comes after she underwent dozens of painful surgeries and awoke from a coma after the April 28 attack only to learn that not only had her attacker escaped charges, but an investigation wasn't even being done.
"I was in a coma for two months and no one even entered my home to investigate," she said. "Sometimes it felt like they were working against me."
Sims said Fordham knew that she was planning on leaving him when he pretended to slip and splash an industrial-strength drain cleaner on her face, neck, arms and chest.
The resilient mother of two has gone on to found the Christy Sims Foundation, a nonprofit organization which strives to end domestic violence through education and awareness.
As she screamed in pain and begged him to call 911, she said Fordham refused to help rinse her off.
Instead, he claimed that washing her off would only intensify the chemicals, a claim which countered what a 911 dispatcher told him on the phone only moments before, Sims said.
"He said, 'They said to sit down and wait for the ambulance because if you rinse yourself off, you're going to ignite the chemical,'" she previously recalled.
When paramedics finally arrived they hosed her down, but by then her skin was left permanently scarred.
Asked if the pain and damage he inflicted is something she’d feel justified by him experiencing as well, she readily said no.
“What he did to me was so inhumane,” she told The News. “There’s no way I would ever do what he did.”
Moving forward, Sims says she’s enthusiastic to push this dark chapter of her life behind her and put everything she’s got into helping others.
Friday’s win was step one.
"It wasn't just for me. This was a victory for any survivor of domestic violence," she said while expressing thanks to Henry County Assistant District Attorney Sandy Rivers and her wide circle of friends and supporters.
Since surviving the attack, the resilient mom has gone on to serve as a public advocate against domestic violence by founding the Christy Sims Foundation, a nonprofit organization which strives to end domestic violence through education and awareness. She serves as the proud president of the organization.
April 25 was also recently named “Christy Sims Appreciation Day” in Fulton County, Ga., by the county's commissioner.
Fordham meanwhile faces up to 20 years in prison on each of the three counts. He's scheduled to be sentenced on Thursday.
Asked if she has anything to say to Fordham, a man she had to face every day in court this week, she said no.
"I don't have anything to say to him because I don't think he has any remorse," she said.
But she does have a message to other domestic abuse victims: "Don't ever give up. Tell your story until someone listens."
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