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Serial Predator Arrested After 40 Years
Steven Ray Hessler has received a 650-year prison sentence for his brutal attacks
From 1982 to 1985, a small town in Shelby County, Indiana, lived under a reign of terror when a vicious masked man broke into homes at night, armed with a gun or knife, and sexually assaulted women.
Shelbyville was the scene of all but one of the atrocious attacks. The town is about thirty miles southeast of Indianapolis and, at that time, had around 20,000 citizens.
The series of crimes disturbed the town, and fear gripped the hearts of women for many years as that mysterious assailant remained at large.
Gun sales skyrocketed, and even a local hospital offered shooting lessons to the residents. Police urged women to take extra precautions. They were told to avoid being alone, make sure to close their curtains, lock their doors and windows at night, and alter their routines as the authorities believed that the perpetrator stalked his victims before making his move.
The nightmarish spree began on the night of August 14, 1982, when a woman woke up in the middle of the night after a man entered her home through an unlocked door. He held a knife to her throat, demanding money. He took some cash from her purse; then he threatened to hurt her young daughters, who were sleeping in the next room, if she didn’t comply with his orders. He forced her to put on a nightgown and then proceeded to assault her.
He knew she was a recent divorcee and told her that her ex-husband paid him to intimidate her and teach her a lesson. He also threatened that he would return to hurt and kidnap her daughters on their way home from school if she ever thought about reporting the incident to the police.
A few months later, a similar incident took place. On the night of November 1, 1982, the assailant forced his way into a home where a mother lived with her son.
They were both awakened at knifepoint, and the man threatened to hurt the little boy if the mother didn’t comply with him. He made her put on sexy clothing and perform sexual acts while her son watched before sexually assaulting her.
Like the previous incident, he told the woman that he was paid to hurt her and that he would return if she…
