Mother sentenced for sex crimes against daughter
Williamsport, Pa. — A woman who turned her young child over to be raped repeatedly by her boyfriend portrayed herself as a victim in court this week.
Michelle Renae Strayer, 36, of Milton never mentioned her daughter at a sentencing hearing in Lycoming County court on Tuesday; instead, Strayer told Judge Ryan Tira she was also a victim of Marcus McDaniel, who is serving life behind bars for raping Strayer's 6-year-old daughter.
McDaniel abused the girl for a year with Strayer's permission and help, which led to charges being filed against both Strayer and McDaniel when the abuse came to light in March of 2022.
"I, too, was a victim of McDaniel," Strayer said while standing next to her counsel, Timothy Reitz.
Judge Ryan Tira showed little sympathy for Strayer, though, as he sentenced her to 22 to 45 years in state prison.
Strayer pled guilty in July to endangering the welfare of children, obstruction, corruption of minors, conspiracy to commit rape of a child, sexual exploitation of a child, and unlawful contact with a minor. She previously testified against McDaniel, who was convicted of raping Strayer's six-year-old daughter while Strayer watched.
Strayer admitted she held her daughter's hands as McDaniel raped the little girl vaginally and anally. Strayer cried on the stand while she described how she took her daughter into the shower to wash McDaniel's fluids from her body.
The little girl eventually told a counselor at her school about the abuse, which prompted a call to ChildLine and Lycoming County detectives.
During Tuesday's sentencing hearing, Strayer's mother, Valerie Strayer, spoke on her daughter's behalf, saying Michelle has "suffered a lot" because of what happened. She told the court domestic violence had made Michelle Strayer hand over the little girl to a predator for sexual gratification.
"She (Michelle Strayer) has suffered a lot," Valerie Strayer said. "Through it all she has kept her integrity."
Strayer's attorney also asked for leniency for Strayer. Reitz claimed he and Strayer were lied to by the prosecution, which did not offer any kind of plea deal for Strayer's testimony. He also pointed out Strayer had to suffer through multiple interviews with law enforcement.
"We were lied to," Reitz said.
Reitz requested a mitigated sentence, with the majority of it running concurrent with probation. He cited Strayer's cooperation with the prosecution and low risk of re-offense as things Tira should factor into the sentence. Reitz asked for leniency, but also conceded, "This case really bothers me" when first addressing the court.
Assistant District Attorney Matt Welickovitch asked for aggravated sentences on all six counts against Strayer and asked for them to run consecutive to each other.
Judge Tira agreed, handing down the multi-decade sentence to Strayer. Tira touched on the fact Strayer did nothing to help her child being abused at the hands of McDaniel.
"If you were remorseful, it would have stopped after the first time," Tira said. "It didn't."
Tira continued to point out how Strayer's argument focused on herself getting better. Strayer, her mother, and Reitz spoke more about Strayer's recovery than the victim, he noted. They also railed against their perceived suffering at the hands of the district attorney's office, Tira noted.
"How about the sexual assaults?" Tira asked Strayer, looking directly at her.
Tira said Strayer's gift was not getting charged with an addition 60 counts of sexual assault like McDaniel. The extra charges will commit McDaniel to prison for the rest of his life.
