A Pennsylvania man received an unprecedented 3,000-year prison sentence after the prosecutor in the case decided to charge one count of rape for each day he sexually assaulted his victim, a 13-year-old girl.
Matthew Perry, 44, was convicted in a court in Greene County, Tennessee of committing 13,143 felony sex offenses, 2,190 of which were for raping a minor over six years.
"I am proud to announce Matthew Perry would have to live for 3,000 years in order to pay his debt to society, and now I would like to get back to fulfilling my promise to the people of my community to continue cleaning up the corruption in Greene County," said District Attorney David Russo.
The prosecutor explained that other prosecutors would have possibly filed one or perhaps two counts of rape, but considering that since the rapes occurred on different occasions, there would be no reason to file the case on a single count.
"The child was raped over and over and over again. So why wouldn't you prosecute the one count for every single time the child was raped?" he said during an interview. "When we charge them this way, we can get longer sentences," he told Fox News, stressing that this conviction marks a milestone in the fight against sexual predators and that he hopes it will set an example for other district attorneys.
According to Russo, the girl was raped at least once a day for six years, and according to statements the minor gave at trial, it became "as normal" for her "as brushing her teeth."
"This was a difficult case that arose from a difficult situation. I want to thank the jury for their service and the State Police investigators for their diligence. It took teamwork through many organizations, to see that justice was done for the victim (...)The children of Greene County are the future of Greene County and we will not tolerate crimes against our children," he said.
