JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A convicted rapist faced his victim and a judge Wednesday to learn how long he will spend in prison.
Richard Edwards was convicted last month of breaking into a northwest Jacksonville home in July 2008, putting a gun to a woman's head and raping her. Police said the victim's 8-year-old daughter watched it happened.
Recommended Videos
Edwards, 23, faced up to life in prison for his conviction of two counts of kidnapping, sexual battery and home-invasion robbery.
At a sentencing hearing, the victim told Circuit Judge Mark Mahon that the assault changed her and her daughter?s lives.
"My hope today is that he spends 23 more birthdays locked up," the victim said. "He took that innocence away from my daughter and I hope they get to take that away from him."
When Edwards was given a chance to speak, he insisted he didn't do it.
"I still don't understand how," Edwards said. "It was not me. I was not even in town then."
Video:
Mahon was not convinced and sentenced Edwards to four concurrent life sentences -- one for each charge major charge.
Leaving court, the victim told Channel 4's Dan Leveton that she was satisfied that Edwards will likely never have a change to walk the streets or harm anyone else. She said she would try to move on with her life.
"I mean, it's difficult. He disrupted my life. Even now, I'm picking up pieces," she said. "We'll make it through though. I found Jesus already, so we'll make it through."