Woman sentenced to 15 to 30 years in teen's rape

WILKES-BARRE, Pa. -- A woman accused of having orchestrated the repeated rape of a teenager in order to get another child she could raise as her own has been sentenced to 15 to 30 years.

Misty Machinshok, 33, of Wilkes-Barre pleaded guilty in January in Luzerne County to rape, aggravated assault, conspiracy, child endangerment and other counts.

Assistant District Attorney Nancy Violi called the crimes "particularly heinous" and said she believed the defendant had taken no responsibility.

"She put her own self-interests ahead of (those of the minor)," Violi said.

Judge David Lupas imposed the sentence and ordered Machinshok to register as a sex offender for the rest of her life, saying he feared that the girl would suffer lifelong damage.

"The acts perpetrated on this victim are extremely heinous in nature," he said. "It's hard to envision."

Prosecutors allege that that she told her husband that she wanted another child but was unable to bear children herself, so they conspired to impregnate the teenager, intending to tell others that the child was fathered by a man the girl met at a party.

Defense attorney Mary Deady acknowledged that her client had made "a lot of bad decisions," but said her plea was intended to avoid putting the teenager through a trial.

Her husband, Gary Machinshok, 29, earlier pleaded no contest to rape, aggravated sexual assault, and other counts and was scheduled to be sentenced Monday.

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Information from: The Citizens' Voice, http://www.citizensvoice.com