A man who was found guilty of twice raping a 12-year-old girl was sentenced to 47 years in prison today. Adam Wright, 44, was convicted in December of sexually assaulting the then middle schooler several times in 2002. Wright, who says he's now found God and wants to "instill some good morals and values" in his kids, adressed the victim directly in court, telling her: "Let go, learn to let go. Don't hold on to any pain, don't hold on to it. Give it to the Lord and he'll take care of it for you."
Wright, who has five daughters and two sons, randomly raped the 12-year-old in a filthy Brooklyn elevator room, let her get dressed, then undressed and raped her again. Wright wasn't caught until 2008, after a DNA hit following an arrest for carrying an open alcohol container. He acted as his own lawyer during the trial, and tired to argue that the assaults should be considered one crime and not two, which Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Dineen Riviezzo rejected citing "the particular heartlessness of his act."
The now 21-year-old victim, who has a daughter, testified during the trial: "November 13, 2002, was the worst day of my life. It was a day that my childhood was taken by a man I never saw or even knew." She twice left the stand in tears as she described the sex assaults and how it changed her: "I was a lovable, sweet, warm-hearted girl. After that day, I became aggressive, mean. Basically, I was put into a shell. No one could bring me out of this shell." Now a nursing student, she said it was a relief to see Wright finally punished, and addressed him directly: "Today, it brings me great comfort that you are going away and will never do this to anyone ever again."
