A local father faces a quarter-century behind bars after he was convicted of raping his 2-year-old handicapped daughter.Prosecutors admit the defendant, Joseph Anthony Saitta Jr., may have gotten away with the crime if not for the bravery of a personal care nurse who sacrificed her job to bring the abuse to light.Saitta was convicted following a two-day trial in which prosecutors told jurors the nurse had broken regulations by leaving the child to take the little girl’s mother to a family member’s house. It was during that time, prosecutors proved during trial, that Saitta raped the helpless toddler.When they returned, the nurse saw something she felt suggested the child had been molested. The 2-year-old is totally unable to communicate due to a severe mental handicap.At some point, prosecutors said, the nurse contacted law enforcement with her suspicions after doctors failed to make a connection between the child’s symptoms and her being victimized.