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FARMINGTON, Utah (AP) -- Michael Shane Dyer has been sentenced to prison for beating a woman with a hammer and raping her 14-year-old daughter at a Clearfield mobile home park where he and the victims lived.
Dyer, 32, pleaded guilty in March to aggravated sexual assault, aggravated burglary and aggravated assault in the February attack.
Second District Court Judge Glen C. Dawson said the crime "was too brutal, too inexplicable" and Dyer was a danger to the community.
He sentenced Dyer on Monday to 15 years to life on the first count, five years to life on the second and one to 15 years on the third. He recommended the sentences be served consecutively. However, the time actually served will be up to the pardons board.
Mitigating circumstances include "an extreme substance abuse problem" and "total lack of impulse control when inebriated," the judge said. Dyer told authorities that he had been under the influence of drugs for three days prior to the attack.
"This will give authorities a longer time to monitor your progress and protect society," Dawson said.
The victims no longer live in Clearfield and have moved out of state.
The mother called Dyer a monster, and said, "He was only sorry he got caught. ... He is evil. There was no soul in his eyes that night."
"I'm just glad he's been put away for a very long time," her daughter said.
Dyer's mother, Jennifer Jill McCormick, held her daughter and cried during the sentencing. Both live in Virginia.
McCormick said the sentence was "so unfair" and that the judge "didn't take into consideration he has never done anything like this (before)."
She said that she was "not the best mother," and that Dyer took care of his younger sister while she "went partying and goofing off."
"I also was a strict mother. By today's standards, it may be considered child abuse," McCormick said.
In another case, Dyer was accused of removing a 10-year-old girl from school in February, taking her to his home and promising her a puppy before performing a sex act on her.
(Copyright 2004 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
