Highlights from the news story here: NH Man In Church Rape Case Facing 54 Years At Sentencing
"A convicted rapist, accused of impregnating a 15-year-old church member, faces up to 54 years in a New Hampshire prison.
Ernest Willis, 52, of Gilford is to be sentenced Tuesday in Merrimack Superior Court..
Willis and the teenager, who also babysat his children, attended a fundamentalist Baptist church in Concord that made her apologize to the congregation when she became pregnant. The pastor helped ship her to the home of a Colorado couple she didn't know - with her mother's consent - and arrange for her baby to be adopted.
A jury in May convicted Willis of forcibly raping the girl twice in 1997
'She got shamed, shunned, silenced and sent away,' prosecutor Wayne Coull told jurors."
Praying for Tina, again today. I so wish the sentencing meant this would finally be over for her. But I imagine she and her family will always be dealing with the horror of what happened. Praying all day today, and every day that she comes to mind. So thankful for her husband and friends who are there to support and encourage her in person.
ReplyDeleteFrom Trisha LaCroix
ReplyDeleteTina, your story, your stand, your honesty and your grace has inspired me on so many levels. I found my voice because of you. I have taken a stand because of you. And I've finally been honest about my past. You've gone through so much and I am so sorry for that. But thank you...thank you so much for taking the ugliness and the void from what happened to you and making something beautiful and giving others so much strength. Be strong. Hang in there. You have thousands of people behind you and who will stand beside you all the way. And there is power is all of our voices soundng together.