A former Navy SEAL found guilty of repeatedly molesting his daughter has been handed a sentence of 60 years behind bars, which will not begin until after he finishes the 27-year federal sentence he is currently serving for manufacturing child pornography.
Former Petty Officer 1st Class Gregory Kyle Seerden pleaded guilty earlier this year to seven felony counts of lewd acts on a child. According to prosecutors, the abuse occurred while the 31-year-old was a Navy SEAL stationed in San Diego.
The victim, his daughter, was between 5 and 7 years old when the assaults occurred, Fox 5reported. Deputy District Attorney Amy Colby said the child gathered enough courage in 2015 to report Seerden for his crimes and praised the bravery required for her to deliver testimony in May.
“She faced her abuser and bravely testified about the things that happened to her,” Colby said.
“While he may at some point have been hired to protect the country, and at some point people looked at him as a hero, she’s the true hero here. Because of her testimony and her bravery, she is preventing any future crimes like this from happening.”
Seerden’s daughter, now 12 years old, was not present at the sentencing, but her mother, Alicia Reppert, did read a statement on her behalf.
“We can start healing today by making him answer for his crimes every day for the rest of his pathetic existence,” she said.
Seerden in 2017 was also accused of raping a woman while he served the Navy in Virginia. He’d been stationed in San Diego at the time but was in the state for training for the week. A subsequent search of his cell phone during an investigation into the rape allegations uncovered a cache of child pornography, including a video of him abusing a five-year-old relative while she slept.
He was arrested in April 2017 in the child porn case and later sentenced to 27 years behind bars in federal court. Only when he finishes serving his federal sentence can he begin to serve the 60-year sentence handed to him in the abuse case.
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