INDIANAPOLIS (TCN) —Â A 23-year-old man has been sentenced to 76 years in prison after pleading guilty to child molestation and rape in connection with a 2024 home invasion.Â
On June 29, 2024, police were called to a home after receiving a report of rape, WXIN reports. Responding officers made contact with a woman who said that both she and her daughter, age 12, had been raped at gunpoint. She stated that a masked man, later identified as Teshon Gardner, came to the door, showed her his gun, and told her to let him in. Gardner then raped her and asked if she was alone after looking at family photos on the wall. Â
Gardner reportedly walked down the hall to the woman’s daughter’s room and raped the child at gunpoint. WXIN reports he filmed both attacks on his cellphone.
Gardner stayed in the home for about an hour, WTHR reports. According to WISH, two other children, ages 1 and 8, were in the home at the time.Â
WXIN reports police tracked down the suspect using cameras and arrested him during a traffic stop. In an interview, Gardner was asked if he had any tattoos and told authorities he had one on his stomach, per WTHR. Authorities confirmed it matched the description given by the victims.
He was charged with 19 counts of rape, child molestation, and sexual battery.
On Aug. 6, Gardner pleaded guilty to one charge each of rape and child molestation and was sentenced to 38 years for each charge, according to WXIN.
MORE:
