Wicomico County, MD - On July 28, 2023, the Honorable S. James Sarbanes, Administrative Judge of the Circuit Court for Wicomico County, sentenced Eric Paden, age 52, of Salisbury, Maryland, to an active sentence of forty (40) years of incarceration.Paden previously pleaded guilty on May 30, 2023, to Sexual Abuse of a Minor and three counts of Sexual Offense in the Third Degree, and sentencing was deferred pending completion of a pre-sentence investigation and mental health assessment.Following his active sentence, Paden will be on five (5) years of supervised probation and will be subject to fifteen (15) years of incarceration should he violate probation.From January of 2020 through December of 2022, Paden sexually abused a minor within his household. The victim was under the age of 16 at the time.Wicomico County State's Attorney (SA) Jamie L. Dykes said, "There is a violation of trust whenever any child is sexually abused. Because of the diligent investigation by law enforcement, the multi-disciplinary approach employed by the Child Advocacy Center (CAC), and the strong sentence imposed by the Court, justice was swiftly attained for the survivor in this case."SA Jamie L. Dykes commended Detective D. Schultz of the Wicomico County Sheriff's Office, who was the lead investigator, Child Protective Services, and members of the CAC for their work in the investigation.SA Dykes also commended Assistant State's Attorney Michael Calabrese, who prosecuted the case and advocated for justice.© Eastern Shore Undercover LLC TM/SM. All Rights Reserved.