A 24-year-old Helena man received an 85-year prison sentence in District Court Friday for felony attempted sexual abuse of children.

Ryan Gene Gaither was sentenced for supplying over-the-counter drugs and alcohol to an 11-year-old boy and a 15-year-old girl in November as part of a plot to film the two having sexual intercourse.

After a five-day trial in June, a jury found Gaither guilty of the attempted abuse charge as well as felony criminal endangerment, for which he received a 10-year prison sentence to run concurrently.

"I feel very strongly that he will continue to pose a high risk to the community," Judge Dorothy McCarter said.

With the addition of a sentence for being a persistent felony offender, for which he received 50 years with 10 suspended, and two revoked sentences for prior charges of felony forgery, for which he received 10 years for each to run concurrently - Gaither was sentenced to a total of 135 years in prison by McCarter. He will be eligible for possible parole in 36 years.

He also must register as a Level 3 sex offender, which indicates he is at high risk of re-offending.

The judge said she had many reasons for her decision, including that Gaither has a remote chance of being rehabilitated from his psychopathic and antisocial behavior. Gaither has not shown any desire to cooperate with treatment efforts in the past and poses an increased threat upon release from prison, she said.

Cathy Murphy, a state probation and parole officer who conducted the pre-sentence investigation, spoke of Gaither's long history of criminal behavior and drug abuse. Gaither has spent half of his 24 years incarcerated. He was on probation after a stint in state prison for the felony forgery charges when he committed the attempted sexual abuse of children.

Also, when the incident occurred, Gaither was out on bond on felony charges of burglary and theft out of Yellowstone County for allegedly stealing prescription medication and syringes from a grocery store pharmacy where he worked at the time.

The first night he was back in Lewis and Clark County, he met the victim and purchased alcohol for her.

On Nov. 18, 2007, the girl was hospitalized after she and the boy took about 16 Coricidin, over-the-counter cold and cough medicine pills.

The pills contain Dextromethorphan, which when taken in high doses can produce hallucinations and feelings of euphoria, according to court documents. The youths also drank vodka that Gaither provided.

When interviewed by investigators, the boy indicated he and Gaither had a longstanding conspiracy to record the girl having sexual contact with the boy, according to court documents. The plan was for Gaither to supply the girl with drugs so she would engage in sex acts with the 11-year-old.

The boy said he did engage in sexual conduct with the girl that night, court documents say. The girl testified during the trial that, although she didn't think anything sexual happened, she blacked out and didn't recall much of the night.

The prosecution argued that Gaither has continued to break the law while incarcerated.

During one of the hearings on the attempted sexual abuse of children charge, Gaither, who is hepatitis C positive, spit on people while leaving the courtroom. He pleaded guilty to that misdemeanor. Gaither also was involved in a fight while in the Lewis and Clark County Detention Center.

In addition, Gaither had written some explicit letters to people while incarcerated, including one to a mental health profession in which he detailed how he would sexually assault her.

"I've never talked to a criminal before with such deep-seeded depraved thought patterns," Murphy said, who added that treatment is not an option for him because multiple efforts in the past failed miserably when Gaither either ran away or was kicked out.

According to the prosecution, Gaither's crimes have progressed in severity and would likely escalate.

"There seems to be no stopping him. He has no compassion for anybody, probably including himself," Lewis and Clark County Attorney Leo Gallagher said.

"This is the first time in my career I have seen a psychopathic sexual sadist come before the court. It's as sick as it gets. You need to protect society," Gallagher told the judge.

The defense argued that Gaither should not be sentenced for crimes he might commit but for those he was charged with, and those crimes warrant treatment and counseling for his chemical dependency and mental health issues more than a long prison sentence.

When the girl was passed out on the bed, Gaither had the "prime opportunity to show his evilness" but he did not touch her, public defender Jennifer Streano said.

"If you sentence him to life in prison, you're sentencing him because he has mental illnesses and he might commit crimes," Streano said.

"We have to look at what happened and what Ryan did. What happened was this girl took cold medicine and Ryan turned the video camera on."

Investigators confiscated the camera and found digital images and audio recordings of the 11-year-old talking to the girl on the phone, attempting to coax her to his home, while Gaither coached the boy on what exactly to say. Gaither can be heard whispering to the boy, who offered the girl intoxicating substances in order to coax her into meeting him.

Gaither ultimately picked up the girl, went to a store where he purchased the pills, and took her to the home.

After the phone call, the recording cuts to a conversation between the three, where the girl is speaking to Gaither about how horrible she feels.

The girl testified during the trial that Gaither had intended to post the video and audio on the Internet in order to embarrass her.

During her intoxication, Gaither carried her into a bedroom and placed her on a bed where she was joined by the 11-year-old boy. The video camera was positioned to film the two on the bed, she testified.

The next morning the 15-year-old girl called a friend to tell her she was drugged and in trouble. Her friend then called the girl's mother, who picked her up and took her to the hospital, where she was treated for five hours.

His attorney said Gaither was brought up in an abusive home, which was filled with drug abuse and pornography. He was born addicted to heroin. His criminal history was not violent; it consisted mostly of drug use and theft to support his addiction.

Gaither's mother, the defense said, also has a long criminal history but has been given a chance for recovery in the Elkhorn Treatment Center, which is a women's correction and methamphetamine treatment center in Boulder. Gaither should receive a similar situation, Streano said.

"That's the million dollar question - is this just an angry kid doing what was done to him or a real dangerous person planning stuff in the future?" said Michael Scolatti, who conducted the sexual offender evaluation.

Scolatti said he was concerned with Gaither's repeated attempts to kill himself.

"There's a fine line between suicide and homicide," Scolatti said, adding that someone who is willing to take their own life is sometimes willing to kill others and that Gaither has some of the same characteristics of those who have committed mass shootings and then shot themselves.

"I find Mr. Gaither to have that same level of dependency and anger within him," Scolatti said. "Right now, 90 percent of the indicators are against him."

Reporter Angela Brandt: 447-4078 or angela.brandt@helenair.com