OLATHE, Kan. — Police said they found themselves with an unusual suspect after a three-year-old boy is allegedly sexually abused. Olathe prosecutors charged an 18-year-old woman with the crime.
Ashleigh Geist, 18, is behind bars at the Johnson County Detention Center on a $250,000 bond. Prosecutors said because of the severity of the crime, if convicted, Geist could stay behind bars for the rest of her life.
Online, Geist is a bubbly teenager who uses social media to display her love for family, God and gourmet cooking. A May 2012 graduate of Olathe Northwest High School, Geist even tweets a picture of her recent high score of 29 on her ACT. Now, Geist stands charged with aggravated criminal sodomy.
“It’s unusual for us to see a female defendant in these types of cases,” said Johnson County District Attorney Steve Howe. “We have had other cases where we’ve had female defendants committing these types of crimes but it is unusual.”
Howe said Geist was arrested on Monday for the crime, he says, was committed in Olathe on July 9. Police say the three-year-old victim is known to Geist but says the two are not related. It’s the victim’s age that has prosecutors seeking a life sentence.
“The legislature over the last couple of years has really started to enact some serious penalties for victims of sex crimes of a very vulnerable age,” Howe said.
Prosecutors said the crime is considered an off-grid felony, meaning, if convicted, Geist could get life in prison and would not be eligible for parole for 25 years. FOX 4 spoke with the victim’s parents who said they just hope the justice system does its job.
Neither parents nor the district attorney would provide details of the crime.
