DETROIT – The parents of Danielle Stislicki spoke Friday after the person of interest in her disappearance was sentenced for assaulting a jogger at Hines Park.
Rich and Ann Stislicki were in court as Floyd Galloway, 30, was sentenced to 16 to 35 years for the attack and attempted rape.
"We're thankful that predator has been removed from the greater community at this point," Rich Stislicki said.
The victim, who was 28 at the time of the attack, read a statement addressed to Galloway. She told him she is a "smart, independent, stubborn woman" and that he ruined her day but couldn't ruin her life.
MORE: Sisters, best friend of Danielle Stislicki speak for first time since her disappearance
"I want you to think about me and how I am living and enjoying my life while you sit there alone because you thought you could take advantage of me," the victim said in her statement.
Galloway worked as a security guard at the Southfield building where Danielle Stislicki worked, and where she was last seen before disappearing Dec. 2, 2016. He has been named a person of interest in her case.
"It was almost like Danielle's spirit was in (the Hines Park victim)," Rich Stislicki said. "She carries the same kind of spirit as Danielle. I was totally blown away by the spirit."
READ: Ann Stislicki's message to Galloway: 'We know things, Danielle spoke to me about you'
After listening to the victim's statement and the prosecutor's praise for the woman's bravery, Judge Mark Slavens said he would follow the sentence agreement of 16 to 35 years in prison.
"I'm relieved that this victim was able to survive and doesn't have to go through the ongoing court situation of being grilled; of being reminded of that terrible experience," Rich Stislicki said.
As the Hines Park case closes, the Stislicki family feels like Danielle Stislicki's case can truly begin. Her parents had maintained throughout the Hines Park case that it was about the jogger, not their daughter.
"It's not about Danielle at this time," Rich Stislicki told Local 4 in June, when Galloway was first named a person of interest in his daughter's disappearance. "There will be that moment, but this time it's about that person from Hines Park who made it out alive and was able to talk."
Now that Galloway has been sentenced in the Hines Park attack, Danielle Stislicki's parents know it's time for the next step.
"Our hope is that other victims who have remained silent now have the courage to come forward and say, 'Me too. This was my perpetrator,'" Rich Stislicki said. "If they didn't know Floyd Russell Galloway's name, maybe now, with this additional coverage, by seeing his face, will give them the strength to come forward and say, 'That's the person that did that to me.'"
Rich Stislicki said the family's goal is to find out what happened to Danielle Stislicki and have her returned.
"Our biggest goal is we want Danielle returned to us," Rich Stislicki said. "In any form, so we can rest."
Ann Stislicki worked with Galloway at the Southfield office.
"I agree with the judge and his statement, where he said that he, being Floyd, was so boisterous to go ahead and just take someone without their permission and how arrogant that was. Yet he could not speak anywhere near where the rest of us could hear," Ann Stislicki said. "His meek voice is a true cowardness, in my opinion, of who he is. ... I'll echo the survivor's sentiments that she is strong and we are strong. I will also echo that I hope that you (Galloway) have time to sit and think about what you did."
Why was it important for the Stislickis to be in court for the Hines Park case?
"We all represent Danielle Stislicki," Ann Stislicki said. "We are, as we said before, grateful for the survivor of this. But Floyd Galloway is a person of interest ... in our case as well. It's duly noted. It's out there in the press."
Ann Stislicki looked ahead to her daughter's case.
"We have an extraordinary case," Ann Stislicki said. "We have extraordinary people involved in law enforcement and in our community."
She offered a direct message to Galloway.
"Floyd, my message to you at this point is no longer, 'We're going to be here,' because you already know that," Ann Stislicki said. "We know things. Danielle had spoken to me about you, and the police know that as well.
"So when you're in that cell, and you're thinking about what you did and what you should do, you need to do the right thing."
"(Galloway) will not know what we have, but we will pounce," she said.
She said she is convinced Galloway knows where her daughter is.
"I am convinced, yes," Ann Stislicki said. "I won't divulge, because I will have our day in court."
She said she recently found a letter from her daughter that said, "I want to live a life. I want to live in peace. I want to have a family."
"He took that away from her," Ann Stislicki said. "We stand here today and we represent her, and we will continue to represent her with all of the community, with all of you and all of law enforcement."