Dec 8, 2007 2:13 pm US/Eastern
Man Sentenced For Sexually Assaulting 10-Year-Old
MANCHESTER, N.H. (AP) ―
A Wilton, New Hampshire man who sexually assaulted his girlfriend's 10-year-old daughter has been sentenced to 25 years to life in state prison.
Prosecutors said 26-year-old Patrick Collins was sentenced on Friday after pleading guilty to three counts of aggravated felonious sexual assault and two counts of felonious sexual assault.
Manchester police arrested Collins January first after the girl's mother called to report she had found him in bed with her partially naked daughter.
The girl told police that Collins had gotten into the bed with her and sexually assaulted her. The girl told detectives she pretended to be asleep during the initial assault.
Prosecutors said Collins claimed he was giving the girl a massage, but later admitted sexually assaulting her.
Hillsborough County Superior Court Judge James Barry sentenced Collins under a newly lengthened penalty for the crime of sexual assault against children age 13 and younger.
Prosecutors said Collins will be required to complete a sexual offender program while incarcerated. Collins can petition the court for release after 20 years if he completes the program. If released, Collins will be forbidden contact with children younger than age 16, and will spend the rest of his life on parole.
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