This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2015, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

A 44-year-old Utah woman was sentenced to prison Tuesday for sexually abusing an elderly woman.

Tina Marie Maestas pleaded guilty in September to third-degree felony forcible sexual abuse. Charges of first-degree felony forcible sodomy and misdemeanor abuse of a vulnerable adult were dismissed as part of a plea deal, according to court records.

On Tuesday, 3rd District Judge Robert Adkins sentenced Maestas to zero to five years prison, telling the defendant he had never seen anything like her case in his career as a judge or attorney, according to a news release from the Utah attorney general's office.

Maestas was a stranger to the victim before the 2012 sexual assault, according to the office.

"The senior victim had several physical infirmities and was distraught looking for lost pet, when the defendant, a stranger to the victim, offered to help," the news release reads.

Maestas took the woman back to the victim's home, encouraged her to take more of her medication then prescribed, then sexually assaulted the woman.

"Assistant Attorney General Ann Rozycki argued [in court] that the question the victim asked at and during the time of the sexual assault of 'Why, why are you doing this to me?' is still not answered today," the attorney general's news release states.

Maestas will be required to register as a sex offender.

Both the Tooele Police Department and the Utah attorney general's office investigated the case. Though the incident took place in 2012, charges were not filed in 3rd District Court until April 2014.

Twitter: @jm_miller