Man with "profound mental illness" sentenced to 12 years in child rape case

Nov. 16--LOCKPORT -- Anthony C. Myles, who suffers from what the judge called "profound mental illness," was sentenced Wednesday to 12 years in state prison for raping a 6-year-old girl in the City of Lockport in the spring of 2010.

Myles' attorney, Assistant Public Defender Michael E. Benedict, asked for a short prison sentence so Myles could be placed in a state psychiatric center as soon as possible. Benedict said he anticipates that Myles will be flagged after his release for the state's civil confinement program, which keeps sex offenders in psychiatric custody after their prison terms expire.

However, Deputy District Attorney Holly E. Sloma urged Niagara County Judge Sara Sheldon to impose the maximum prison sentence, which would have been 15 years.

Myles, 30, of Evans Street, Lockport, was not charged in connection with the sex crime until it was reported to police in May of this year. He didn't wait to be indicted, instead pleading guilty to a reduced charge of attempted first-degree criminal sexual act on Aug. 30.

Myles was evaluated by two sets of psychologists and found to be mentally competent to stand trial.

"Because of his record of noncompliance (with treatment and medications), he's dangerous," Sloma said. "He is, aside from his mental health issues, a sexual deviate. ... He needs to be incarcerated as long as possible."

Sloma said Myles grabbed a 12-year-old girl's buttocks in Lockport in 2010, but Benedict said that case ended with a plea to second-degree harassment, which is rated a violation, not a crime.

Benedict said Lockport police have picked up Myles many times. "He's been found wandering the streets talking about the devil, that (a woman) was the devil and he was Jesus," said Benedict, who said he reviewed seven years' worth of mental health reports on Myles from three different facilities.

Myles denied Wednesday that what he did to the girl constituted rape, but Sheldon disagreed. Myles also explained why he went off his medications.

"The medication was making me drowsy," he said. "I took it every day, until I didn't know what was going on. I asked God what was going on, and I read the Bible."

Sheldon told Myles, "I am not unsympathetic to your rather tragic life, but you cross a line when you rape (a girl)."

email: tprohaska@buffnews.com

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