Man Sentenced 18 Years For Rape, Exposed By Stepdaughter In College Essay

A Brooklyn man, Albert Tarrats, was sentenced on Monday to 18 years ?behind bars for raping his 8-year-old step-daughter. The story made national headlines due to the fact that the step-daughter kept the disgusting sexual attack a secret for over a decade until she wrote about it in a college application essay.

Tarrats, 62, remained quiet throughout his sentencing in the Brooklyn Supreme Court, but the New York Post reports the prosecutor Anna Krutay did read a statement from his victim. The victim noted that she’s still haunted by his monstrous crimes.

“Getting closure and justice on this horrific situation is the best thing I could have gotten from this experience. I didn’t realize how much of a burden it was on me til I went on the stand. Once I told my testimony and I was done, I felt like a weight had been lifted from shoulders.”

The story is interesting in that the rape was exposed in an unlikely manner. The now 18-year-old victim, was asked to write an essay for college admissions about how she became who she is today. ABC News reports, she responded with an account of how her churchgoing childhood was upended after her mother embarked on a marriage that “changed my life forever.” While her ex-stepfather seemed all right at first, “toward the end of the marriage he began to rape me,” his accuser wrote.

“I never told anyone… at that point in my life, I was scared.”

The incident happened in 2008 when the victim was only eight-years-old. She recounts how her then step-father forced himself on her and raped her. She never told anyone and held in the pain. According to RAINN– The nation’s largest anti-sexual assault organization-60 percent of sexual assaults go unreported and it appears this case would have been the same had the college bound victim not been asked to write about her upbringing.

The victim did not attend the sentencing hearing, but says now that the rape has been disclosed and her rapist sentenced, she feels a “weight lifted” from her shoulders.

“I felt like a weight had been lifted from my shoulders. I feel a lot happier than before. I will not forget what happened, but I will move on from it.”

With everything that has happened emotionally to the victim over the years, the college essay has set her free. Though she will never get over everything that has happened to her, she notes:

“All I have been through has made me the person I am today.”

Tarrats still denies the rape allegations and says he was falsely accused.

[Image Credit: NY Daily News]