Ryan Gaither, 24, was sentenced Friday to 85 years in prison for attempted sexual abuse of children and 10 years for felony criminal endangerment.
“I feel very strongly that he will continue to pose a high risk to the community,” said District Judge Dorothy McCarter, who declared Gaither a persistent felony offender and sentenced him to another 50 years in prison with 10 suspended.
Gaither was convicted in June.
Court records said Gaither was out on bond on felony charges of burglary and theft in Yellowstone County when he purchased over-the-counter cold pills and vodka for the girl and boy in November 2007.
Cathy Murphy, a state probation and parole officer who conducted the presentence investigation, said Gaither had a long history of criminal behavior and drug abuse and had been incarcerated half of his life.
Prosecutors said Gaither continued to break the law while in custody. During a court hearing in the case, Gaither, who is hepatitis C positive, spit on people while leaving the courtroom. In addition, Murphy said he wrote explicit letters to people from jail, including one to a mental health professional in which he detailed how he would sexually assault her.
“I’ve never talked to a criminal before with such deep-seeded depraved thought patterns,” Murphy said. She said previous efforts to treat him have failed when he either left or was kicked out.
Lewis and Clark County Attorney Leo Gallagher said Gaither seems to have no compassion for anybody.
“This is the first time in my career I have seen a psychopathic sexual sadist before the court,” Gallagher said.
The defense argued that Gaither should not be sentenced for crimes he might commit, but for those he was charged with. Public defender Jennifer Streano said Gaither was born addicted to heroin and brought up in an abusive home where drug abuse and pornography were common. She asked that he be given another opportunity for treatment.
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