LAFAYETTE — A judge sentenced a Lafayette man to 90 years in prison Thursday for kidnapping and attempting to kill a 9-year-old girl in April.
James Chadwell II, 42, pleaded guilty in October to attempted murder, two counts of child molesting, kidnapping, criminal confinement, battery with serious bodily injury and strangulation. He also faced a sentence enhancement for being a habitual offender.
READ | Missing girl told police man 'tried to kill her'
Chadwell was sentenced to 90 years in prison and will not be eligible for parole for at least 70 years.
Under current law, he'd be 111 years old before he'd be eligible for parole, according to the prosecutor.
"The victim fought the defendant, and is a true survivor of this unimageable attack," Tippecanoe County Prosecutor Patrick Harrington said in a written statement. "The family thanked the Lafayette Police Officers for their outstanding effort to quickly locate the victim, and save her from any further harm."
The girl was found injured inside Chadwell’s Lafayette home in April 2021.
A probable cause affidavit said Chadwell forced the girl to go into his basement where he forced her to perform a sexual act, hit her in the head when she fought back and made threats to kill her if she screamed or told anyone what happened.
The girl went into his home in the 700 block of Park Avenue to pet his dogs before she was forced to go into his basement, according to the affidavit.
According to medical records and observations from officers described in the affidavit, the girl had strangulation marks on her neck, broken blood vessels with black eyes, bruising and bite marks.
Chadwell has several previous felony convictions in Indiana and South Dakota, according to the affidavit.
In May, Chadwell was injured after getting in a fight with another inmate inside his jail cell.
WRTV's Andrew Smith and Katie Cox contributed to this report.
