Few, if any, of us will be able to wrap our mind around what Mikeal Shane Pruett, 55, did to his two granddaughters. The Montana man has been found guilty of raping and impregnating his 11-year-old granddaughter and molesting her younger sister. While we may debate whether a sentence to fit those horrific crimes even exists, a judge came pretty darn close.
Pruett was sentenced to 200 years—100 years for each incest charge. That means he'll be eligible for parole when he's 105, though Ravalli County District Judge Jeffrey Langton said the man didn't seem to have "any semblance of a conscience" and that rehabilitation seemed unlikely.
Pruett reportedly has a history of being a sexual predator with young girls and had been put in charge as his granddaughters' caretaker at the time of these horrific crimes. He was arrested in June, after a doctor discovered the 11-year-old girl was 32 weeks pregnant.
The little girl initially claimed she was impregnated by a boy she had met at the Ravalli County Fair the summer before. An investigator had to explain to her that, scientifically speaking, that didn't make sense. She later confessed that Pruett would come into her bedroom late at night and molest her and that he told her to give police the fake story about meeting a boy.
She said her grandfather told her he didn't want to get caught. That makes me question whether he does have a conscience that he was simply disregarding, which somehow makes him even more deplorable in my eyes.
More from The Stir: Man Shot After He Admits Impregnating His Girlfriend's 11-Year-Old Daughter
The man's granddaughter said if she denied him sex, he would "go to the couch and pout if he didn't get what he wanted ... he'd wait to see if I could come out and look at him and feel sorry for him, but I wouldn't."
It gets worse, I'm afraid. The girl told police she would sometimes wake up and catch Pruett molesting her 9-year-old sister in their bunk bed.
Pruett's past offenses include an arrest in 1985 for molesting a niece in Idaho. He reportedly fled after he was charged, but the case was mysteriously dismissed two years later. He was also charged in 1980 with taking indecent liberties, but the case records have gone missing.
When asked if he had anything to say in court, Pruett reportedly replied, "I'm so sorry."
It seems like this sentence was a long time coming. Hoping the two victims who had their childhoods snatched away from them get the help and love they deserve.
What do you think of this man's 200-year sentence?
Image via Ravalli County Attorney's Office