Devenport receives 24-year prison sentence for sexual and physical abuse of young women

A Holmen man has been sentenced to 24 years in prison, on charges of sexually assaulting a woman and her two daughters during several days in 2020.

Christopher Devenport was tried and convicted on 17 criminal counts in La Crosse County last fall, in a case dating back to September of 2020. Investigators said Devenport sexually and emotionally abused the victims over a period of four days.

At sentencing on Monday, Devenport claimed that there was a conspiracy against him, and that people had put substances in his ears when he was asleep in jail, giving him infections. The 35-year-old Devenport was kept in jail for three years before his trial, spending much of that time in solitary confinement.

The young victims spoke at sentencing, saying they have experienced panic and anxiety attacks because of the incident. In his defense, relatives of Devenport said that other members of their family have experienced mental health problems.

Judge Elliott Levine said Devenport has shown a tendency to control others, and described the defendant’s behavior as frightening, mean, and cruel. The prison sentences were for the sexual abuse charges, with jail terms for other charges to be served at the same time. Levine said that protection of the public was the main reason behind the prison sentence for Devenport.