CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — The 15-year-old New Hampshire girl was pregnant, scared and humiliated when she was made to stand before her Baptist church congregation 14 years ago and apologize for her immorality.
Tuesday, it was a former church member’s turn to apologize before he was sentenced to 15-30 years in prison for forcible rape. Fifty-two-year-old Ernest Willis of Gilford said he was “sorry and ashamed for this thoughtless act of sexual misconduct.” But in his statement he did not admit he forcibly raped the girl.
Victim Tina Anderson, now 29, told The Associated Press she felt vindicated. She said she was never really believed that the sex was not consensual until a court found him guilty. The AP typically does not identify victims of sexual assault, but Anderson asked that her name be used.
