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| NewsThursday, December 22, 2005 9:27 AM CST |
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Childrapist gets 38 years
BLOOMINGTON - A Bloomington man was sentenced to 38 years in prison Wednesday for repeatedly raping a girl younger than 13 over the last 2Â1/2 years. Terrance Washington, 28, glared at the girl's family after Judge Ronald Dozier gave him consecutive 19-year sentences in McLean County Circuit Court for two counts of predatory criminal sexual assault. Assistant State's Attorney Stephanie Wong said Washington's crimes were so reprehensible because the girl's mother had often left him in charge of taking care of the girl in her absence. "On a day-to-day basis, she did not know whether that day was going to be a day she would have to submit to this defendant's lust," Wong said while asking the judge for a 40-year sentence. Wong said the girl is so emotionally scarred and frightened by Washington that she could not put in writing how the assaults affected her. Despite staring down the girl's family, Washington appeared contrite when he spoke to Dozier about the rape before the judge sentenced him. "I understand what I did was wrong," Washington said. "The reason why I did it, I have no idea. I can't see why I did it. I just ask that you be lenient towards me." Terry Dodds, Washington's attorney, also asked for leniency, noting his client has only minor criminal offenses on his record and that he immediately confessed to raping the girl when he was confronted by police. Washington pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting the girl in a deal in which prosecutors agreed to seek no more than 40 years in prison. But Dozier said Washington's crimes were too serious and the damage suffered by the girl too great to warrant a sentence much less than 40 years. "We know young people who suffer these types of crimes | most of them suffer from them for the rest of their lives," Dozier said. With the 38-year sentence, Washington will serve at least 32 years under laws requiring some defendants to serve 85 percent their sentences. Dozier said he could not accept the explanation that Washington didn't know why he committed the crimes. Raping the girl obviously gave him sort of gratification. 'Why you would succumb to the temptation of doing it, I don't know why," Dozier said, adding "Mr. Washington, it's extremely sad for a person in a trusted position to do what you did." E-mail this story | Print this story | Search archives | RSS Show comments |  Hide comments | Hide comments on all stories |
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