Dad who raped half-sister sentenced to 32 years in prison (Fort Wayne, Indiana)

Dad DONALD L. MEDSKER got custody of his half sister after their mother died. He then proceeded to rape and sexually abuse her for more than 15 years.

http://www.news-sentinel.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20091003/NEWS/910030342

Medsker sentenced to 34 years for incest
Half sister who bore his 7 children, beginning at age 14, testifies at trial.

By Ashley Smith
of The News-Sentinel

The half sister of Donald L. Medsker tightly clenched a tissue as the man who fathered her seven children received 34 years in prison for a more than 15-year relationship with the woman.

In Allen Superior Court on Friday, the woman, now in her 30s, tearfully told how Medsker took her into his home after her mother died and then began an intimate relationship that led to their first child being born when she was only 14 years old.

“He would have me sit on top of him in a chair,” the woman said in court, recounting the start to this ordeal. “… And then I was” performing a sex act with Medsker.

She went on to recall daily – and sometimes more frequent – sexual intercourse with the now 46-year-old Medsker that led to the seven pregnancies.

She said Medsker would pick out her clothes when they went out, tell her how to wear her hair and even buy her lingerie. He would then have her sleep in his bed.

“So, he would treat you more like (his) girlfriend or (his) wife?” Allen County Prosecutor Karen Richards asked the woman. “Yes,” she replied.

She said she was also hit, kicked and put in a closet, and she ultimately dropped out of school. She said she did not have any friends and lived a life of seclusion.

“I didn't grow up like normal kids,” she said, adding it is causing problems now for her finding a job. “He needs to pay for what he has done.”

In a statement in court, Medsker apologized for his actions, but said he was a good father who did not deserve to lose his children.

“I'm truly sorry. I have made some mistakes and I'm accountable for those mistakes,” he said. “Please do not take my children from me.

“They are counting on me to be there for them.”

Surbeck felt differently and issued a no-contact order along with the 68-year sentence, 34 years of which were suspended, for the seven counts of incest and the misdemeanor charge of child solicitation.

“I am convinced that each and every act that this defendant committed strikes at the very moral fabric and moral code of this country,” Surbeck said.

After the sentencing, Richards said both she and the victim were satisfied with the result. They were, at least, hoping he would not be released until the youngest child turned 18. With good behavior, he can be released in 17 years.

“No number of years you are going to give him is going to give her life back,” Richards said. “You never get back (that) portion of (your) life that you lost.”