Maplewood Man Gets 29 Years For Sexually Assaulting Girl, 7

MAPLEWOOD, NJ — A Maplewood man will spend at least a quarter of a century in jail for sexually assaulting a seven-year-old girl, authorities say.

On Thursday, a New Jersey Superior Court judge sentenced Gery Destra of Maplewood to 29 years in state prison for aggravated sexual assault, sexual assault and child endangerment. An Essex County jury convicted Destra in October of 2017.

• See related article: Maplewood Man Convicted; Sexually Assaulted Girl, 7

Destra, 21, must serve 25 years of his sentence before he is eligible for parole, according to Assistant Prosecutor Kathleen Lyons-Boswick, the Essex County assistant prosecutor who tried the case. He faced a maximum sentence of life in prison.

Destra will also be under parole supervision for life and required to register under Megan’s Law when he is released from prison.

“This has been a long and trying ordeal for the victim and her family,” Lyons-Boswick said. “Yet, they had the strength and courage to see this through.”

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