By SYDNEY KENT
Two of three South Dakota suspects convicted of kidnapping an 11-year-old from Zanesville on New Year’s Eve were sentenced to three years in prison.
Isaiah Schryvers, 25, and Sara Gaudino, 24, appeared in the Wells Circuit Court on Wednesday afternoon for a joint sentencing hearing. The married couple each pled guilty to one count of kidnapping, a Level 5 felony, with the plea agreement limiting the executed portion of the sentence to four years.
The charges were filed after the couple was arrested — along with Zachary Delozier, 27. The trio was located with an 11-year-old that was reported missing from Zanesville just 24 hours earlier, largely in part due to Flock camera systems and concerted efforts between law enforcement across several states.
Delozier was charged with child molesting, a Level 1 felony, child molesting, a Level 2 felony, promotion of child sexual human trafficking, a Level 3 felony, and child solicitation, a Level 4 felony.
However in March, Delozier was indicted by the federal government for the crime, leading prosecutors to dismiss local charges without prejudice. The status of Delozier’s case in federal court is currently unclear.
Schryvers claimed that Delozier paid the couple $350 to drive from South Dakota to Indiana to pick someone up.
“He told me and my wife he was talking to a girl on Facebook messenger that was over 18,” Schryvers said on the stand Wednesday. “Being DV myself, it tugged on my heart. I refused for a while and he kept pestering me, so I agreed.”
Both Schryvers and Gaudino repeatedly acknowledged that it was obvious that the victim was under 16 when they initially saw her.
“They knew this was a young person,” Judge Kenton Kiracofe said. “I think their noble efforts, that they thought they were helping somebody, are undercut with the evidence the child was being assaulted while they were driving.”
Prosecutor Colin Andrews said that the time period for the crime that was committed, capped at six years for a Level 5 felony, did not seem to be long enough.
“As a level five felony it doesn’t seem high enough,” Andrews said. “The child was willing to go. I don’t know what she had going on that she thought this was the best option, but the defendants took advantage of it.”
“These people lived remotely, there’s no running water,” Andrews explained. “It is the state’s belief that (Delozier) intended to take her and make her his wife … She would have been cut off from civilization.”
Andrews emphasized that Schryvers and Gaudino did not commit a crime of omission. He noted that through Chicago and into Wisconsin, there were multiple stops and bathroom breaks that occurred where the subjects could have contacted authorities or sought help.
“The victim said there was always someone watching her,” Andrews continued. “Their complicity in the operation as it further progressed into jurisdictions … There’s a molestation that happened in the van by Mr. Delozier. Schryvers said it well — he should have done something … There is irreparable damage inflicted on (the victim) for the rest of her life.”
“(The victim) was taken advantage of,” Miller said. “Like everyone else in this situation. These two individuals were left stateside with these kidnappings.”
“I believe I’d be a good candidate for probation,” Gaudino said during her allocution statement. “There are resources available to me in South Dakota. From what I gather, I would be housed with (Schryvers’ cousin) and have support from my dad and grandparents.”
Andrews acknowledged that the case significantly impacted the town of Zanesville, placing people in fear for their children’s safety.
“Kidnapping conjures a certain stereotype or image in one’s head,” Kiracofe said. “That it’s this unknown person that drives up and snatches a child. We all know that really isn’t common. In this case, it very much is the stereotype. Not a child walking in the street, but it was a concerning individual that has a plan to get this child and take them back.”
Kiracofe also referenced the dozen or so Predator Catcher Indianapolis cases that have been filed in the Wells Circuit Court in recent years. Each case involves a sting operation where a suspect is arrested after attempting to solicit a minor to meet for sexual purposes.
“This is that next step,” Kiracofe said pointedly. “This was a real person.”
Andrews told the court that the victim and her family have moved out of the state following the traumatic experience.
“What these people have been through is hellish,” Andrews said.
“I’m guilty of my part, and I honestly don’t wish this on my worst enemy,” Schryvers said during his allocution statement. “I wouldn’t wish this on my children and I’d be exactly where the parents are if my children were taken. There’s not a day that goes by that I don’t think about what happened and how I could have stopped it. I wasn’t paying attention and drove most of the way, I know that’s not an excuse.”
sydney@news-banner.com
