Monday, October 29, 2007

Attacker sentenced to over 130 years in prison

This story is about a "man" who was sentenced to 131 years for raping two women in Indianapolis back in 2006 and earlier this year.

Their abduction and rape by [Audrain L.] Jones left indelible and devastating marks. They have moved, sold off reminders of the attacks and described sleepless nights, constant fear and the loss of their independence during emotional and frank testimony Friday. After they testified, a judge sentenced Jones to 131 years in prison.

"We are both being sentenced in this matter," one woman said. "Mine is just without bars."
Jones, now 19, kidnapped the 27-year-old woman inside a Downtown Indianapolis parking garage in February. The incident came nearly a year after he abducted a 25-year-old teacher in April 2006 from the parking lot of the Sycamore School on the Northside of Indianapolis.

Both times, Jones forced the women to drive their cars to ATMs to withdraw money. He raped the teacher twice before threatening harm if she went to police; in the later attack, the woman was raped but later escaped from the car.
The Indianapolis Star generally does not identify the victims of sexual assault.
"My entire life has been turned upside down because of what one vile, evil individual did to me," the teacher told Judge Tanya Walton Pratt, reading from a lengthy statement she had prepared.

One effect has been profound, she said. She had planned on remaining a virgin until marriage -- and now, she sees herself as broken and damaged.
"I didn't have a choice when I was raped inside a car by a stranger with a gun," she said. Jones didn't become a suspect until he was linked to the February incident. With her attacker -- and his parting threat to her -- still at large, the teacher decided to move.

She continued teaching at the private school for another year, but the stress and reminders of the attack proved too severe, she said. She has since left the job.
The woman involved in the February incident described an uneasy feeling as Jones followed her in a stairwell before getting into her car. After the incident she sold the car, trying to purge the crime scene from her life.

The judge said the nature of the crimes justified long sentences, though she also considered Jones' difficult upbringing. His grandmother had described neglect from his mother and said Jones' father was in and out of prison.

With Indiana sentencing, if a person stays out of trouble in prison, they can earn up to half off of their sentences. This means that 131 years can turn into 65.5 years. The story goes on to say:


By the earliest date Jones could be released from prison, he would be well into his 80s. Last month, he pleaded guilty to all the charges against him without a deal from prosecutors.
"I regret everything I done to hurt them victims," Jones wrote in part of a letter to the judge that was read aloud by his public defender, Melissa Perez.
"I think Mr. Jones' greatest fear is never seeing the light of day again," she said.

But the judge and Deputy Prosecutor Courtney Curtis recounted Jones' long juvenile criminal history, which began with battery at age 10. In that incident, the judge said, he hit a girl who ran away after Jones pulled down his pants and said, "Come on, baby." His record also includes theft and burglary. Each time, Curtis said, counseling and other measures had no effect.
"He has shown he cannot be rehabilitated."


Reference:

Victims of Rape Tell Of Effects

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