A man who filmed himself raping a woman and her 12-year-old daughter at gunpoint during a home invasion has been jailed for 76 years.
Sentencing and plea deal
Teshon Gardner, 23, was sentenced this month after pleading guilty to child molestation and rape over the June 2024 attack in Indianapolis, US. Under a negotiated plea deal, he received consecutive 38-year prison terms for two counts, while 17 other charges were dropped.
The attack
Police were called to the family home on June 29, 2024, after a report of rape. At the time, officers spoke to the mother, who said she and her daughter had both been raped at gunpoint.
The woman told investigators a masked man later identified as Gardner came to her door, showed her a gun and ordered her to let him in. He then raped her and, after looking at family photos on the wall, asked if she was alone.
According to investigators, Gardner had knocked while wearing an American flag mask and forced his way inside at gunpoint. After noticing the photos, he realised a 12-year-old girl was in the home, forced her into the living room and raped both victims - while recording the assaults on his mobile phone.
Arrest and evidence
Two other young children, aged one and eight months, were in another room during the hour-long ordeal. Gardner was tracked down the same day after neighbours provided surveillance footage showing a blue Ford F-150 driving away from the scene.
Police reportedly used city traffic cameras to trace the vehicle’s licence plate to an address linked to Gardner, then arrested him in a traffic stop later that day. He initially denied the assaults, but detectives said the mother gave a highly specific description of a torso tattoo featuring the letter “M”.
When officers asked Gardner to show his tattoos, he revealed a matching stomach tattoo reading “Motown” - and could not explain how the victims could have known about it.
