Child molester quiet as she receives 100-year sentence

MUNCIE -- Ashley Lynn Stapert had nothing to say Thursday as she was sentenced to 100 years in prison for sexually abusing a friend's six-month-old daughter.

The 24-year-old Muncie woman -- found guilty of two counts of child molesting Oct. 7 by a Delaware Circuit Court 2 jury -- also instructed her public defender, John Quirk, to make no argument on her behalf at Thursday's hearing.

It's possible Stapert said everything she needed to say in an earlier interview with a probation officer. According to Judge Kimberly Dowling, the Muncie woman recounted becoming sexually aroused when she changed the baby girl's diaper, and also described her fantasies that focused on the infant.

Stapert's former boyfriend, Bryan Michael Strickler, also was convicted of participating in the November 2011 sex crimes, and last December received a 100-year sentence of his own. The assault left the infant with a sexually transmitted disease.

"Knowing what she is capable of... this defendant is why we have maximum sentences," Deputy Prosecutor Zachary Craig told Dowling in arguing for the 100-year prison term. "She is a wolf in sheep's clothing. She is a predator. ... It makes your stomach turn."

The victim's mother -- a former classmate of Stapert who had allowed the defendants to stay at her Muncie apartment -- also asked for a maximum sentence.

"Me and her were best friends," the mother said. "I took her in. ... She has nothing to say? No remorse, no regret?"

The witness said her daughter, now 3, at the time of the assaults "couldn't fight her off (and) she couldn't tell me."

Dowling said Stapert's crimes "cry out for the maximum sentences."

The Muncie woman -- who received credit for nearly three years already spent in jail -- was sentenced as a credit restricted felon, and will receive one day of "good behavior" credit for every six days she serves in prison. In Indiana, many felons receive a day of credit for each day they spend behind bars.

Stapert was a prosecution witness at Strickler's November 2013 trial, and at one point had a preliminary plea agreement that would have placed a 20-year cap on her sentence.

The deal was withdrawn, however, after Stapert's admissions to the probation officer reflected she had not been truthful in her earlier accounts of the abuse.

Contact news reporter Douglas Walker at (765) 213-5851. You can also follow him on Twitter @DouglasWalkerSP.