(Indianapolis, IN) – The Indiana Court of Appeals has upheld all convictions and the 650-year prison sentence for Steven Ray Hessler of Greensburg (pictured).
He was sentenced on April 1, 2022, to 650 years in prison for two counts of Rape, six counts of Unlawful Deviate Conduct, seven counts of Burglary Resulting In Bodily Injury, three counts of Criminal Deviate Conduct, and one count of Robbery (all Class A felonies).
Hessler was convicted of all 19 counts on March 3, 2022, following an eight-day trial in Shelby County.
The charges stem from a series of home-invasion sexual assaults in the Shelbyville area from 1982 to 1985.
Hessler was arrested at his Hendricks Street home in August 2020 after investigators linked him to the crimes through DNA evidence.
“Steven Ray Hessler is one of the most evil, dangerous, sadistic predators that I’ve had the pleasure of prosecuting in my 30-plus 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 for the rest of his life, and all involved are very happy that we have achieved that goal.”
In arguments before the appeals court, Hessler’s attorneys claimed prosecutorial misconduct; double jeopardy, and that the 650-year sentence was too long.
However, the appeals court disagreed with all three claims.
Hessler can now ask the Indiana Supreme Court to take a look at the case.
The high court can either accept or decline.
