The 25 years given to a local teen for raping a 10-year-old girl was not the maximum sentence he could have faced as reported in Friday’s edition of the Standard.Due to a state law that escalates penalties for child rape to ensure longer sentences, Matthew L. Thomas, 19, could have faced many more decades behind bars.Thomas entered a no-contest plea before Circuit Court Judge Bart Stanley on Wednesday for raping a girl in the woods behind his house. The rape occurred when he was 18.He was given a 25-year sentence to be served at 100 percent. The 100 percent stipulation means he cannot get out early on parole on the Class A felony.A Class A felony is the most serious crime a person can commit, underneath a capital crime.
Thomas gets minimum 25 years for child rape
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