18 Years Sentencing in Rape Essay Case: Victim Claims 'Closure' and Renewed Faith in God After Sentencing
The man whose former stepdaughter revealed a history of rape in a college application essay has been sentenced to 18 years in prison. The young woman now feels "a lot happier" and has a sense of closure knowing that her abuser will spend time behind bars.
"Getting closure and justice on this horrible situation is the best thing I could have gotten from this experience," the young woman wrote in a statement after the sentencing. "I felt like a weight had been lifted from my shoulders. I feel a lot happier than before. I will not forget what happened, but I will move on from it."
According to the testimony of the young woman, her stepfather raped her repeatedly and she never spoke a word to anyone about it. She wanted to protect her mother, but once the marriage dissolved and her mother remarried, the young woman felt she could begin "speaking" about it. The victim wrote about the rape in her application essay to a Christian college in Florida in order to answer the question about what made her who she is.
Get Our Latest News for FREE
"Toward the end of the marriage, he began to rape me. I never told anyone … at that point in my life, I was scared," she wrote. The experience "changed my life forever."
Her mother read the essay and immediately called the police, who later arrested the man. A jury convicted him of rape and he was sentenced to 18 years behind bars.
The 63-year-old man found guilty of rape entered the Brooklyn courtroom with a Bible in his hands. He seemed surprised by the sentence and by the verdict convicting him of rape.
"He denies he committed the crime," attorney Ernes Hammer told the Associated Press. It's "a difficult matter, and a very, very unattractive one."
During the trial, Hammer alleged that the victim wrote about the rape to gain sympathy for admittance. However, a jury did not agree, and now the victim is thriving and has hope for the future. She also has a renewed faith.
"All I have been through has made me the person I am today," the young woman wrote.
