TOLEDO -- A Sylvania woman is doing her first interview since she was convicted of raping a four-year-old girl and sending naked pictures over the Internet -- crimes that could keep Elissa Schuster locked up for life. Schuster talked to News 11's Bob Jones in a story you'll see only on News 11.

There have not been many local criminal cases this year that have generated as much news coverage as the case against Elissa Schuster. The crime was first reported in September of 2004. Detectives say they got a tip from the victim's father, and discovered that Schuster had performed sex acts on a child, photographed them, and sent the pictures to a man in Florida. In late July of 2005, she went to trial, where a jury found her guilty. The mandatory sentence for rape, since the victim was under 13, is life in prison.

Schuster admits she committed crimes, but insists rape was not one of them. Last week, more than a year after the crime, the now 24-year-old Schuster wore handcuffs and a blue jail jump suit when she sat down for an interview with Jones. She said she agreed to the interview to tell her side of the story.

"I am very, very sorry," Schuster said. "This has impacted my life severely. My world has been completely turned upside down. I have lost everything that I knew."

The jury decided the pictures showed Schuster raping the girl. She says that's not true, and the photos could be interpreted many ways. "I am not guilty of rape. I did not touch her in any matter down there and I will take that not guilty to the grave with me."

Elissa says her trouble started last year. She logged onto an Internet chat-room, and allegedly met John Fleming. She says he lied about being be a football player for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and promised her between $6-$7,000 for pictures of Schuster committing sex acts on the girl. "Yes, I did make a mistake and did something wrong and I have admitted to that the whole time and said that i did do something wrong by taking the pictures and sending them," Schuster said.

Elissa says her hand is in the pictures, but she insists she never touched the girl in a sexual way. She also claims she's an alcoholic and claims her judgement was clouded because she was on medication for depression and was desperate for money. "The opportunity presented itself and I really regret doing it. If I could go back, I'd go back in an instant and re-do my decision," said Schuster.

She passed on a plea deal that would have landed her in prison for 3 to 18 years. She rolled the dice, went to trial, and now her rape conviction means a mandatory life sentence since the victim was under the age of 13. Elissa says she realizes that most people will not feel sorry for her. She says she'll fight for a new trial and claims she's not afraid to go to prison. "I don't think you ever mentally prepare yourself for something like that, but it's something that I have to do and I don't have any other way around it," said Schuster.

Elissa Schuster will not be eligible for parole for 18 years, when she'll be 42 years old. As for John Fleming, he's scheduled to go on trial in Florida in January. If convicted, he could get up to 35 years in prison.

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