The Indiana Court of Appeals recently upheld a former Chicago man’s 85-year prison sentence for rape, child molesting and domestic battery in Dyer.
Christopher Colbert, 37, was sentenced in June after he pleaded guilty to rape, child molesting and domestic battery.
He was accused of drugging and raping a preteen girl, then kicking a woman who tried to intervene in one assault, records show.
In a 3-0 decision filed Feb. 13, Appeals Judge Mary DeBoer rejected his arguments – that a judge improperly used the mother’s, a different woman who reported the abuse, and the child’s suffering and his criminal history unfairly to boost his sentence – and did not give enough credit for signing a plea deal to lower it.
At the June 26 sentencing hearing, the child’s mother said she had to quit her job, because the girl was “so traumatized, she is afraid to be alone,” DeBoer wrote, quoting her.
The woman who reported it said she was left with “extreme PTSD” and “panic attacks” that caused her to pass out.
At the hearing, Colbert blamed the woman who reported it, saying he “indulged” in “things” due to her.
Judge Natalie Bokota rebuked him, saying it was surprising he would “disparage” or blame her. She was a “hero” and a “champion” for the girl.
Dyer Police Detective Kyle Kozubal wrote that the woman went to the police station Nov. 3, 2023, to report the preteen girl’s abuse.
Colbert set up a Ring video system in the child’s room. Video from around 11 p.m. Oct. 22, 2023, showed Colbert lying next to the girl in the bed. He sexually assaults the child.
The girl “does not appear to react” or know “what was going on,” according to the affidavit.
When the woman confronted him, Colbert kicked her to the ground. She ran to their bedroom to save the Ring video on her cellphone. He chased her around, then held a gun to her head.
He went back to the girl’s room.
The child told investigators Colbert had abused her for seven years — including at houses in Hammond and Dyer. He gave her “drugs,” “weed gummies” and a “sex pill.”
He gave the kids “sleep medicine,” the child said. It made her “dizzy,” and she went “straight to sleep.” He also gave her cocaine in the past, she alleged.
mcolias@post-trib.com
