Stiles sentenced to 21 life terms in child sex assaults
Chester Stiles, the man convicted of videotaping himself sexually assaulting a little girl, was sentenced to 21 life sentences this morning in District Court.
He will be eligible for parole in 140 years.
During the hearing, Stiles launched into a critique of Nevada’s criminal justice system. He questioned whether it was fair to sentence him to spend the rest of his life behind bars when people convicted of second-degree murder are sometimes eligible for release after 10 years.
He also downplayed his crimes.
“Twenty-one life sentences for a 12-minute video. A 12 minute video that shows no use of force, no drugs, no violence or brutality,” he said. “There were no tears. No blood.”
Stiles, 38, was convicted of 22 counts of sexually assaulting a minor, lewdness with a minor and attempted sexual assault of a minor.
A jury in March convicted Stiles of sexually assaulting a 6-year-old in Las Vegas.
The jury also convicted him of videotaping himself sexually assaulting a 2-year-old girl.
That victim, now 8, was found safe and healthy living in Las Vegas. She has no memory of the assault.
Stiles said the lengthy prison sentence he was facing didn’t fit the offense.
“The child didn’t remember a thing. Yet I’m to die in prison,” he said. “So legislation dictates that a child’s virtue is more important than life itself.”
District Judge Jennifer Togliatti said Stiles showed no remorse and hadn’t taken responsibility for his crimes.
“It’s clear to me that there’s a reason why a child’s virtue is more important than you clients' freedom,” she told Stiles' attorney. “I say absolutely and thank goodness.”
The mother of the girl in the video appeared in court Friday morning and wept during the hearing. She declined to speak but provided prosecutors with a statement which was read in court.
“I worry every day that she will remember what happened and how it will affect her in everyday life,” she wrote.
Stiles' case drew national media attention in 2007 in part because he led authorities on a manhunt while he was on the lam. Police arrested the former animal trainer for Siegfried & Roy during a routine traffic stop in Henderson.
Contact reporter David Kihara at dkihara@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-1039.
