A man who raped and impregnated two 14-year-old twins and their 12-year-old sister was sentenced Thursday to 27 years in prison.
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According to Assistant Mahoning County Prosecutor Jennifer McLaughlin, Anthony Perry, 34, was a family friend of the three girls’ mother. She allowed him to stay with their family over when he fell on hard times and had nowhere else to stay. Instead, Perry abused the family’s trust. Perry raped and impregnated the victims in attacks that took place between May 2015 and November 2016, reports the The Vindicator.
McLaughlin told Judge Maureen Sweeney that when the pregnancies were discovered, one of the twins had an abortion, but both of her sisters had to give birth. Their pregnancies were too far along to end, reports the Associated Press via CBS News.
“These girls will suffer the rest of their lives because of this,” McLaughlin said in the courtroom. She also said that Perry had committed similar crimes when he was under 18.
Perry, a Youngstown, Ohio, resident, pleaded guilty in November to several felonies: two counts of first-degree rape and a third-degree count of sexual battery. His original plea deal called for a 25-year sentence, but an additional two years were tacked on by Judge Sweeney.
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According to the Associated Press, Perry’s defense attorney called the crimes some of the most heinous he’d dealt with in his career but still argued that Perry be given a 15- to 16-year prison sentence. His defense was that Perry had suffered a traumatic brain injury during childhood that had left him unable to express feelings regarding his actions.
The victims’ mother said that she now has to raise two children because of Perry’s crime, and his family is not helping in any way.
Perry, who must register as a sex offender for the remainder of his life upon his release, apologized in court before being sentenced.
“I know now what I did was wrong,” he said. “I wish I could take it back.”