Man Who Locked Child In Basement For Years, Sentenced to 122 Years | Daily Brief

A man sentenced to 122 years in prison for sexually abusing a young child and locking them in a basement has been found guilty.

Dante Larks was convicted in April on several assault-related charges, including sexual assault with a deadly weapon, child abuse causing serious bodily injury, and two counts of sex assault on a child - position of trust and pattern of abuse.

Larks was investigated by the Dacono Police Department for domestic violence in December 2018, and in 2019, officials began investigating sexual abuse and assault allegations made by a juvenile against Larks. Several months ago, a juvenile victim told authorities they were locked in an unfinished basement during some nights.

Only a few hours a day were allowed for the juvenile victim to leave the basement. Occasionally, the victim had to use a bucket to go to the bathroom.

Larks threw peanut shells down the stairs, which the victim ate. When the victim was asleep, Larks sexually assaulted him while holding a gun.

At the sentencing hearing earlier this week, the victim told the court, "I will suffer with a diagnosis of PTSD for the rest of my life, 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 added, "I panic when someone walks by me because I remember how he’d grabbed me from behind. I can’t handle even the thought of someone grabbing my ankles because I remember how he grabbed mine before he raped me. But what I’m not doing is playing the victim, because I’m not a victim. I spent years being made to feel broken because he successfully convinced the world I was crazy. But I’m not broken. He is — Dante Larks is broken."

According to the Weld County District Attorney's Office, Larks was sentenced to 122 years in prison on July 11 after a four-hour hearing. Since the crimes were intentionally cruel, Larks will not be considered for rehabilitation.

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