In a case that Kent County Undersheriff John Hess described as “one of the worst child sex cases they’ve had to work,” Stevie Foehl and Michael Emory received life sentences for raping a one-year-old baby.
Foehl, 28, and her boyfriend Emory, 26, both pleaded guilty to numerous sex crimes in January. These charges did not include the rape of the baby, of which police had actual video evidence. The video had been found on Emory’s computer, which had been seized by police during an investigation of different sexual abuse charges that involved a 14-year-old girl.
Foehl received life in prison for the rape of the baby, while Emory himself got three consecutive life sentences. Judge Dennis Lieber, who presided over the horrific sex abuse case, was as disturbed by the crime as the police officers, and made that clear during the sentencing.
“I don’t know how to quantify the horror this child was put through.”
The Huffington Post reports that even veteran police investigators found the video tape of the rape “difficult to watch.”
Emory’s lawyers tried to make the case that Emory was a good candidate for rehabilitation, but fortunately, Judge Lieber did not agree. Emory did attempt to apologize to the family of the victim, saying, “Every day I wake up and wish I could take this back. All I can try to do is make the future better, make things better somehow.”
Foehl also addressed the court, reading from a prepared statement, saying, “To say I’m remorseful is an understatement.”
This is an distinct difference in the way Foel spoke of her horrific crimes against the baby a year ago. In an interview with WOOD-TV last year, Foel said that “nothing we did hurt [the victim]… physically,” but admitted that “of course it’s not going to make sense to anybody.”
She added, “It doesn’t make sense to me.”
She added that her boyfriend was a “great person,” and that she, herself, was also great.
“He [Emory] may have made some mistakes but he is who he is, and I hope that one day people can forgive him. I’m a great person and hopefully one day everybody will be able to forgive me, like some people already have.”
Sounds like life in prison is the perfect place for two people who think they are great and that the horrific crimes they committed against a one-year-old baby didn’t hurt.
When victims are that young, it’s often video that points the accusing finger at the criminals, and this certainly isn’t the first time a horrific crime was caught on tape. Click here to read about the woman whose crimes against a little boy and a dog were caught on video, leading to her own arrest.
[Image via WOOD-TV]