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An Indiana man linked to a chain of sexual assault cases more than 30 years ago has been sentenced to 650 years in prison due to DNA tracing on a utility bill.
Steven Ray Hessler, 59, was convicted on March 3 after an 8-day trial on 19 felony charges for home invasion sexual assaults between 1982 and 1985.
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The charges include two counts of rape, six counts of unlawful deviate conduct and three counts of criminal deviate conduct, and one count of robbery against 10 victims total.
Investigators were able to get ahold of a DNA sample via a utility bill Hessler had licked and sent in.
Hessler would apparently break into homes, masked and armed, in the middle of the night. He would rape, bind, and torture his victims before wiping down the crime scene and stealing any items he might have touched, including money.
Steven Ray Hessler has been charged with 650 years in prison in relation to sexual assaults from 30 years ago.
Prosecutors said his final local assault involved Hessler handcuffing and hog-tying a male victim and then striking him with a gun. The victim was left in a coma for several months before being taken to a rehab facility wherein he had to learn to walk and talk again.
The prosecution had initially charged another local man with the first few attacks in 1983. The individual turned out to be Hessler's cousin. It was only after investigators got ahold of Hessler's DNA at one crime scene that they were able to obtain his DNA sample and executive a search warrant of his home in August 2020.
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The search warrant resulted in the discovery of stolen photographs, cyberstalking traces on Hessler's computer, and clothing items that matched the victims' descriptions.
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"Steven Ray Hessler is one of the most evil, dangerous, sadistic predators that I’ve had the pleasure of prosecuting in my 30+ year career," said Shelby County Prosecutor Brad Landwerlen. "He derived great pleasure from his unnecessarily brutal methods of terrorizing and sexually torturing his victims. I promised the victims early-on that my goal would be that he go to prison the rest of his life, and all involved are very happy that we have achieved that goal."
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