T
Traci Steele
Guest
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504083_162-20007124-504083.html#addcomm
HARRISONVILLE, Mo. (CBS/AP) A Missouri man who was convicted in April of
molesting his daughter for years, fathering four children by her and
causing the death of one of those children, was sentenced to life in
prison plus 22 years Tuesday.
Danial Rinehart shrugged and shook his head when asked by the judge if
he had anything to say to his victim or his family before being
sentenced, then stood stone faced as she read her decision on his fate.
"No sentence I can impose will correct or take away the harm you have
done," Judge Jacqueline Cook said. "But it will make sure you never do
it again."
Rinehart's daughter and victim, Ashley Rinehart, was the first witness
called by the prosecution during the trial, and she gave by far the most
emotionally charged testimony, detailing the abuse that started when she
was just five years old. She told the jury that she had her first child,
a daughter who died after just a few months, at age 14, and went on to
have three more children with her father, only one of whom is still
living, according to CBS affiliate WCTV.
Cass County Prosecutor Teresa Hensley said that Ashley is making a
strong recovery from years of abuse.
"I think she has matured into just the most incredible young woman, and
I really believe we will see a successful, young woman at this point,"
Hensley said. "She is truly a survivor."
After sentencing, Danial Rinehart's mother, Delores, said her son has
found God, and she believes the man's daughter and his wife shared the
blame for what happened - much of it in a trailer parked on the mother's
property on the outskirts of Harrisonville.
She claims not to have known about any of the babies.
"[Ashley] was with her daddy constantly," Delores Rinehart told
reporters outside the courthouse."To me, if he was bothering her, why
didn't she do something about it?"
Delores Rinehart also blamed her son's wife, Linda, saying that if she
would have been "the right kind of mother, the right kind of wife, none
of this would have happened."
Linda Rinehart, faces a separate trial in August for two counts of child
endangerment. Prosecutors allege that she knew about the abuse from the
beginning but did nothing to stop it.
HARRISONVILLE, Mo. (CBS/AP) A Missouri man who was convicted in April of
molesting his daughter for years, fathering four children by her and
causing the death of one of those children, was sentenced to life in
prison plus 22 years Tuesday.
Danial Rinehart shrugged and shook his head when asked by the judge if
he had anything to say to his victim or his family before being
sentenced, then stood stone faced as she read her decision on his fate.
"No sentence I can impose will correct or take away the harm you have
done," Judge Jacqueline Cook said. "But it will make sure you never do
it again."
Rinehart's daughter and victim, Ashley Rinehart, was the first witness
called by the prosecution during the trial, and she gave by far the most
emotionally charged testimony, detailing the abuse that started when she
was just five years old. She told the jury that she had her first child,
a daughter who died after just a few months, at age 14, and went on to
have three more children with her father, only one of whom is still
living, according to CBS affiliate WCTV.
Cass County Prosecutor Teresa Hensley said that Ashley is making a
strong recovery from years of abuse.
"I think she has matured into just the most incredible young woman, and
I really believe we will see a successful, young woman at this point,"
Hensley said. "She is truly a survivor."
After sentencing, Danial Rinehart's mother, Delores, said her son has
found God, and she believes the man's daughter and his wife shared the
blame for what happened - much of it in a trailer parked on the mother's
property on the outskirts of Harrisonville.
She claims not to have known about any of the babies.
"[Ashley] was with her daddy constantly," Delores Rinehart told
reporters outside the courthouse."To me, if he was bothering her, why
didn't she do something about it?"
Delores Rinehart also blamed her son's wife, Linda, saying that if she
would have been "the right kind of mother, the right kind of wife, none
of this would have happened."
Linda Rinehart, faces a separate trial in August for two counts of child
endangerment. Prosecutors allege that she knew about the abuse from the
beginning but did nothing to stop it.