Kristine Guerra

kristine.guerra@indystar.com

In 2011, Mandy Boardman told police that her husband had been drugging and raping her while she was asleep.

Her story launched a three-year criminal case that ended Friday in Marion Superior Court. Boardman's now-ex-husband, David Wise, 52, was sentenced to eight years of home detention.

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A jury had convicted him of rape and five felony counts of criminal deviate conduct.

Boardman called the sentence a "sucker punch to the gut."

"During the reading of the sentence, the judge looked at me before he gave the final decision," Boardman said. "I was told that I needed to forgive my attacker and move on. I received zero justice on Friday."

Marion Superior Judge Kurt Eisgruber imposed a 20-year sentence, with 12 years suspended and eight years executed through home detention. He declined to comment on the case Monday because Wise plans to appeal.

Marion County Deputy Prosecutor Courtney Curtis said Monday that the state had asked Eisgruber for incarceration, saying the "only proper place to serve this crime is the prison."

"Anyone who has the gall or the selfishness to invade someone else's body does not deserve to sit at home on the couch or to be with any member of his family," Curtis said. "He deserves to be kept away from society, to repent and rehabilitate in the Department of Correction."

Criminal justice experts consulted by The Indianapolis Star said judges consider several factors in determining the appropriate sentence. Among them are a defendant's criminal history, employment and likelihood of committing another crime.

Wise has no prior felony convictions, according to the prosecutor's office. He has been convicted of battery, public indecency and operating a vehicle while intoxicated, all of which are misdemeanors.

The home-detention sentence came about two weeks after a two-day trial that began April 28. After several hours of deliberations that went well into the early-morning hours of April 30, the jury found Wise guilty of one count of rape and five counts of criminal deviate conduct, all of which are Class B felonies, each punishable by six to 20 years in prison.

As part of the sentence, Wise will be on a GPS monitoring device and will be allowed to go only to work and back home. He also will serve two years of probation.

That is not enough for Boardman, who was married to Wise for 12 years. She said she still fears for her safety and believes Wise will contact her and will continue to fight for visitation of their son and daughter. Boardman has custody of the children.

"He will continue to harass me and cause me as much pain in my life as he can," said Boardman, who has since remarried.

The Indianapolis Star typically does not identify victims of sexual assault, but Boardman has decided to speak out publicly.

Boardman said Wise harassed her after their 2009 divorce. In January 2010, police were called to the Southeastside home that Boardman had shared with Wise during their marriage. Boardman told police she had been receiving harassing text messages and phone calls from Wise, according to a police report. She also said Wise threatened to kill her then-fiance, according to the report. A protective order was filed the same year.

During the trial, Boardman testified that Wise had been drugging her since 2005, saying she once woke up with a pill dissolving in her mouth. There were several times, she said, when she woke up feeling like her body had been "messed with." In fall 2008, she found three sex videos of her on Wise's cellphone. She said she had no memory of the sex, of consenting to it or of the videos being taken. She made a DVD copy of the videos and kept it until May 2011, when she told police about what happened.

She said she didn't come forward sooner because she didn't want her children to grow up without a father.

Wise's defense attorney, Indianapolis lawyer Elizabeth Milliken, declined to comment but said Wise intends to appeal his conviction.

Boardman said she can still move on with her life. She plans to work with organizations and advocates to help other rape victims. She said she doesn't want other victims to be discouraged to come forward.

"I want to be that person who'll be strong for other women. They cannot be scared that because of the extremely light sentence that was handed down in this case, that it would happen to them, as well," Boardman said. "As for myself, the healing process, I'm just going to have to get through it."

Call Star reporter Kristine Guerra at (317) 444-6209. Follow her on Twitter: @kristine_guerra.