Indianapolis couple sentenced to prison for sexually abusing, exploiting their 18-month-old
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — An Indianapolis couple was sentenced to a combined 90 years in federal prison after they sexually abused and exploited their 18-month-old baby.
News 8 has chosen to not name the couple convicted to protect the identity of the child.
The United States Attorney’s Office Southern District of Indiana announced the sentencing in a release Friday.
The release says that according to court documents, the couple was in an on-and-off relationship from 2019 to January 2022, and had a child sometime in 2020.
The child primarily lived with its mother with occasional visits from its father.
Starting in December 2021, when the parents had physical custody of the child, they sexually abused and exploited the then-18-month-old. Court documents say the parents produced more than 100 videos and images of child sex abuse.
In January 2022, Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department detectives received a tip from Google that the couple uploaded files depicting the sexual abuse of their child. Officers immediately located the parents and arrested them.
The release says that the couple admitted their behavior to investigators. The father also admitted to sharing the materials through messaging services like Kik and Snapchat and on adult porn sites. The father also wrote “extremely graphic” commentary for the materials.
The couple pleaded guilty to sexual exploitation of a child by a parent or guardian and transportation of child sexual abuse materials.
The father was sentenced to 60 years in federal prison, followed by 15 years of supervised release. The mother was sentenced to 30 years with supervised release for life.
Zachary Myers, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana, said in the release, “Babies are precious and vulnerable, and most parents have an instinctual desire to protect them from harm. (These parents) instead chose to exploit their baby in the most cruel and unimaginable ways before (they were) even old enough to walk or speak. The people responsible for these monstrous crimes will now spend decades in federal prison where they cannot exploit another child.”
A federal judge also ordered the parents to pay a combined $50,500 restitution to the child and others.
Help is available for victims of domestic violence. Below is a list of suggested resources on the Domestic Violence Network website:
- Indiana Coalition Against Domestic Violence: 24-hour hotline available at 800-332-7385
- Indiana Coalition to End Sexual Assault and Human Trafficking
- The Julian Center
- Indiana Child Abuse Hotline: 800-800-5556
- National Domestic Violence Hotline: 800-799-7233 or text START to 88788
- National Sexual Assault Hotline: 800-656-4673
