WELD COUNTY, Colo. — It's one of the most egregious cases of child abuse and sexual assault that the Weld County District Attorney's Office has ever seen, and now the man responsible will spend the rest of his life behind bars.
A Weld County judge on Monday sentenced Dante Larks to 122 years to life in prison. Larks was convicted in April of multiple charges including:
- Sexual assault with a deadly weapon,
- Child abuse causing serious bodily injury
- Two counts of sex assault on a child – position of trust and pattern of abuse.
In December of 2018, the Dacono Police Department investigated Larks for domestic violence. The following year, the Weld County District Attorney’s Office began investigating Larks for child abuse and child sexual assault allegations.
Their investigation revealed that Larks verbally, physically, emotionally and sexually abused a child.
The victim reported that the defendant would lock them in the unfinished basement many nights during a period of several months. The victim wasn't allowed out of the basement except for a few hours a day, and at times, had to go to the bathroom in a bucket.
The victim also reported that the defendant would throw peanuts down the stairs and that’s what they ate most days. While the child would be asleep in the basement, Larks come downstairs and sexually assault the child while armed with a gun.
“I still struggle with the sound of footsteps above me because I hear him pacing on the floorboards and wonder if tonight is the night he’ll be coming down the stairs,” the victim said during Monday’s sentencing hearing.
The court heard from several victims who begged for the maximum sentence of 142 years to life in prison.
“This man is an absolute monster who deserves to spend every second, of every minute, of every hour, of every single day behind bars for the rest of his natural life for his egregious and horrific behavior,” Deputy District Attorney Arynn Clark said.
This is the first time prosecutors in Colorado have convinced both a judge and a jury that the impact and long-term damage that PTSD does to the brain can, and in this case did, amount to serious bodily injury.
“This case is by far, one of the most horrific and egregious cases that our office has ever seen", Weld District Attorney Michael Rourke said. "No child should ever experience the horror and trauma that this child will now have to live forever with.”
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