A California man convicted in connection to the kidnapping and sexual assault of a 2-year-old girl in 2015 was sentenced Wednesday to 55 years to life in prison.
Michael David Ikeler, 38, of Torrance, was convicted last month on a count of lewd act upon a child under the age of 14 and two counts of sexual penetration of a child under age 10, according to Sarah Ardalani of the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office.
He pleaded not guilty to the charges in September 2015 and was ordered to stand trial. A jury found him guilty on the three counts on Jan. 27, Ardalani said.
“He’s a monster. He’s full of evil. No child should go through this,” the victim’s mother, who only gave her name as Marisol, said through tears outside the courthouse on Wednesday. “I hope he dies and rots in jail. Hope he gets what he deserves.”
Ikeler was arrested one week after the April 2, 2015, kidnapping of a toddler who was dropped off in an alley hours after her disappearance from a self-serve carwash 14929 Western Ave in Gardena.
Her mother frantically called 911 after the woman’s older daughter told her she had vanished, authorities said at the time he was charged.
The girl’s disappearance prompted a massive search that police called “an unprecedented response.”
She was located approximately 2 1/2 hours later about 8 miles away in a parking lot in Cudahy. A woman who found the little girl said she was sitting on the ground, alone, next to a dumpster.
Read more: Fox17
