Fairplay, Colo - Park County District Judge Charles M. Barton sentenced Ed Espenschied today to an indeterminate prison sentence of forty-four years to a maximum of his natural life. The court found that he was a sexually violent predator. Espenschied was found guilty of sexual assault and sexual assault on a child by a Park County jury on January 13, 2006. Upon receiving the jury verdict, the court determined that Espenschied is a habitual sexual offender against children.

The evidence at the trial established that Espenschied had met his young victim at a camping trip and quickly offered the youngster marijuana. This initial encounter led to a year long grooming relationship in which the Defendant offered drugs, alcohol, and pornography to the victim. In the end, the Defendant took advantage of the young victim’s dependence on drugs and alcohol and demanded the victim engage in a variety of sex acts.

Espenschied engaged in the same grooming and sexual abuse patterns for over thirty years. Three victims from a 1972 and 1975 incident stepped forward at the trial to explain how the Defendant approached them by offering alcohol. When they succumbed to the intoxicating drink, the Defendant demanded they perform sex acts, telling one of them: "if you don’t, I’ll break your neck."

One of the victims of the 1972 incident returned to testify at the sentencing hearing to explain the destructive impact Espenschied had on his life for the last thirty plus years. The victim of the most recent incidents and his mother also addressed the Court to further explain how Espenschied had devastated their lives. The young man stated: "I don’t know if I’ll ever get over this." Espenschied expressed remorse and indicated he wanted to tackle his problems once and for all. In imposing the court’s sentence, Judge Barton remarked that punishment and deterrence were the top considerations in imposing the lengthy sentence. Should Espenshied ever be released from prison, he will be subject to lifetime parole supervision.