JEFFERSONVILLE, Ind. (WDRB) -- A southern Indiana family is feeling closure after a man was sentenced to decades behind bars for child solicitation.

The family was in the courtroom on Monday when convicted sex offender Anthony Redd took a plea deal, pleading guilty to child solicitation of an 11-year-old girl in Clark County.

According to court documents, investigators believe he began molesting the child in 2020, shortly after being released from prison for rape resulting in serious bodily injury. Officials said he was in a relationship with the victim's mother at the time.

"We have been through the most the last three years, waiting for this day," the victim's mother, Tamara Dansby, said. 

Dansby was asked to leave during the sentencing after getting into an argument with Redd's mother in the courtroom, after Redd's mother accused the victim of lying.

"That killed me in there," Dansby said. "Really, what put the icing on the cake is, I turned around and my daughter was crying. So I just ... I couldn't see it. I couldn't hear it."

During the sentencing hearing, Clark County Prosecutor Jeremy Mull read a statement on behalf of the victim, who was also in the courtroom. It said, in part, that it has become hard for her to trust people, and she felt he should be put away for a long time "so he can't ruin another girl's life."

"She needed closure. She didn't have to come today, she wanted to, her brothers wanted to. They didn't have to come," Dansby said. "If that isn't strength, I don't know what is."

Redd chose not to speak during Monday's sentencing. His attorney argued Redd shouldn't get the maximum possible sentence, saying he had accepted responsibility and said a plea deal allowed the victim and her family to avoid testifying during trial.

But prosecutors argued that, due to his criminal history and the nature of the case, he should serve the maximum allowed under law.

A judge ultimately sentenced Redd to 22 years in prison, the maximum time possible under the plea deal.

The victim's family wishes it was more, but are ready to move on.

"I'd like to ruin his life like he's ruined ours, but it is what it is," the victim's grandmother, Anita Lyon, told WDRB News. "I'm just glad I have my daughter, my grandsons and my granddaughter. I love them all and things are going to be OK."

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