Man sentenced to life for rape of 7-year-old
Fount Duston, who molested and raped a 7-year-old girl after kidnapping her from her Ardmore home, was sentenced Thursday to life in prison without the possibility of parole. An appeal is planned.
MARIETTA — A child rapist who was caught because of an Amber Alert was sentenced Thursday to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Fount Duston, 35, molested and raped a 7-year-old girl at his trailer house in Marietta after kidnapping her from outside her Ardmore home on Nov. 8, 2014, police said. He also forced her to drink vodka.
The girl was rescued the next day because of the Amber Alert, police said.
Witnesses to the kidnapping had described seeing the girl dragged into a silver PT Cruiser, and a tipster who knew Duston drove such a car called police after seeing the Amber Alert, police said.
Duston pointed a shotgun when officers came to his house, police said. Investigators later found child pornography there.
Prosecutors blamed the child porn for his actions, saying it fueled his fantasies to the point he decided to kidnap a child.
Duston pleaded guilty in January to 14 felony counts. District Judge Wallace Coppedge on Thursday chose the punishment, imposing sentences ranging from five years to the life term without the possibility of parole.
The judge ordered many of the sentences to be served consecutively, a mostly symbolic gesture since he cannot be paroled.
An appeal is planned.
His defense attorney, Jason Christopher, had sought leniency on mental health grounds.
“He’s dealt his entire life with mental health issues and profound abuse by his father. He didn’t deal with that well. It developed into post-traumatic stress disorder and some drug and alcohol issues,” the Ada attorney said. “It’s just another commentary on ... the dearth of mental health treatment that we have in both Oklahoma and Texas.”
District Attorney Craig Ladd said the punishment was warranted by the horrific facts in the case.
“It was very important to the family,” Ladd said of the life sentence without parole. “I know that the family, they’re all very grateful to be able to move on ... to get this part of it over with.”
The district attorney said the victim has good family support and still lives in the Ardmore area. “All things considered, she’s doing fairly well,” he said.
Duston did not speak out at the sentencing.
“He just had a very expressionless look on his face,” the district attorney said. “He just kind of sat there. ... He never really showed any emotion. He certainly never showed any remorse.”
The defense attorney said Duston has difficulty speaking in public because of his mental illness.
“He has kind of a flat affect, which makes it seem like he was not remorseful,” Christopher said. “It’s just part of the side effects from what he suffers from.”