Rapist dad sent to prison

Rochester Democrat and Chronicle (NY)

Author: Michael Zeigler Staff writer

A Henrietta man who adopted 14 mentally disabled children and sexually assaulted two of them was ordered to prison Tuesday.

William J. Every, 60, was sentenced to four to 12 years by acting Monroe County Court Judge Stephen K. Lindley for raping and sodomizing two adopted daughters from the summer of 2004 to April 2005.

Both of the daughters are young adults.

Every pleaded guilty to the felony charges of second-degree rape and second-degree criminal sexual act, formerly known as sodomy, in exchange for the sentence he received.

Assistant District Attorney Kristina Karle said the prosecution accepted a plea offer because Every accepted responsibility and to spare the young women from being traumatized by a trial.

Every apologized. "I'm very sorry that everything happened," he said.

Karle, however, strongly criticized some of Every's friends and relatives, whom she said sought to minimize his actions. One suggested in a letter to Lindley that Every be ordered to perform 1,000 hours of community service instead of going to prison.

"This wasn't an aberration," Karle said. "This wasn't a momentary lapse of judgment. This was a continuing course of conduct with these two young girls."

Every's lawyer, David A. Murante, said Every's actions could be attributed largely to alcohol abuse. He said Every has stopped drinking.

Murante also said that Every showed extreme remorse for his actions and took responsibility by pleading guilty.

"There's a second side ... a good side," Murante said. "He's not evil personified that should be locked away forever."

MZEIGLER@DemocratandChronicle.com

Background

Judge Stephen Lindley ordered William Every to stay away from the two adopted daughters. The other 12 adopted children weren't abused, a prosecutor said.