Claremore Man Gets Prison For Raping, Kidnapping Girl

A Claremore man will spend the rest of his life in prison for kidnapping and violently raping an 8-year-old east Tulsa girl in May 2014.

Michael Slatton addressed the courtroom before the judge handed down the 120-year sentence. Slatton said he was ashamed and apologized for his 'reckless behavior.' He added it's not the type of person he is or wants to be. He also said he doesn't remember much of what happened, claiming he was blacked out on pills.

Tulsa County Assistant District Attorney, Sara McAmis, said she’s disgusted by Slatton’s comments and said she doesn’t buy his apology.

“I didn't think I could be any more offended by his behavior, until today, in court,” McAmis said. “He still, to this day, refuses to accept responsibility for the incredible impact he's had on so many people. To try to minimize his conduct, to try to blame his conduct on other people and to not show any remorse at all for what he's done...it just really shows that he is something who can't ever be in our society again.”

As deputies escorted Slatton out of court, he only had one response to questions about his 120-year sentence, “Tulsa's great. Tulsa's great,” Slatton said.

Tess: “What do you have to say about what you did to that little girl? You were just convicted of raping a little girl."

He gave no response to that question.

Slatton is convicted of kidnapping an 8-year-old girl from an apartment complex playground. She was there for a birthday party. The adults stepped away briefly to get the cake and, in a split second, the girl was gone. Slatton had forced her into his car.

2/23/2016: Related Story: Man Pleads 'No Contest' To Kidnapping, Rape Of 8-Year-Old Tulsa Girl

“It's absolutely every parent’s worst nightmare...what this little girl went through, what her family went through,” McAmis said.

The prosecutor told the court Slatton stripped the little girl, bound and gagged her, put her in the trunk then drove around to different locations where he violently raped her multiple times.

Slatton eventually left her in a wooded area of Sapulpa.

“It's one of those cases that you will be thinking about until the day you die, that you'll never forget it,” Lieutenant Jim Madden said.

Madden found the little girl wrapped up naked in a sleeping bag. He initially thought she was dead and then, relief when she opened her eyes.

“That was an incredible feeling. There's no words to describe how I felt at that time,” Madden said.

Madden credited the many other officers who helped that night but ultimately believes a higher power had a hand in the outcome.

“Bigger things were at work than just us,” Madden said.

And the prosecutor said bigger things are in store for the little girl, who lost her innocence but not her ability to live.

“I know that she has a very promising life ahead of her, and she wants to help other kids who have been through this type of circumstance,” McAmis said. “She is a remarkable little girl.”

McAmis said the child goes to weekly counseling sessions to deal with the mental and emotional scars Slatton left her.

The way the judge stacked the sentences, Slatton will serve 120 years in prison before he becomes eligible for parole. He was also sentenced to 40 years for a number of other convictions, including assault and battery on an officer and for throwing his own feces on deputies.