In Olathe, Kansas, police have found themselves with an unusual suspect. Eighteen year old Ashleigh Geist is behind bars at the Johnson County Detention Center on a quarter of a million dollar bond. The Olathe Northwest High School graduate is accused of sexually abusing an three year old boy, and is currently being charged with aggravated criminal sodomy. Prosecutors are seeking a life sentence, and because the come is considered an ‘off-grid’ felony, if convicted Geist could receive life in prison and not be eligible for parole for another 25 years.
“It’s unusual for us to see a female defendant in these types of cases,” says Steve Howe, the Johnson County District Attorney, “we have had other cases where we’ve had female defendants committing these types of crimes but it is unusual.”
On the outside, and online, Geist is your everyday teenager, bubbly, enthusiastic about God, her family, and gourmet cooking. She even tweeted a photo of her recent high score of 29 on her ACT.
Geist was arrested and taken into custody Monday for the crime allegedly committed on July 9th. The victim is known to Geist, but they are not related.
“The legislature over the last couple of years has really started to enact some serious penalties for victims of sex crimes of a very vulnerable age,” said Howe.
Neither the parents nor the district attorney would provide any details related to the crime at this current time.
There was a similar case to this back in August of 2011 when a woman pleaded guilty to two counts of first-degree sodomy. Inez Lambert (25) of Portland recorded herself sexually abusing a 1-year-old boy that she was babysitting at the time. She then emailed the videos to her boyfriend, Cory McAdoo (32), who was stationed in Afghanistan with the Marines “for his sexual pleasure.” McAdoo was arrested in Afghanistan by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service and charged with receipt of child pornography.
Inez was charged under Oregon’s version of Jessica’s law, and began her 25 year sentence in November of 2011. Jessica’s Law requires defendants convicted of raping, sodomizing or sexually penetrating a child younger than twelve to serve at least 25 years in prison before they are released for lifelong parole. Defendants can also face double or triple that under multiple charges.
Jessica’s law began in Florida in 2005 when nine year old Jessica Lunsfor was raped and murdered by John Couey, a previously convicted sex offender. Public outrage over this crime helped get this law passed. In Florida, sexual crimes against a child less than 12 years old is punishable by life in prison with absolutely no chance of parole.