Man charged in library rape gets life

NEW BEDFORD, Mass. (AP) - A man who raped a 6-year-old boy in a public library has been sentenced to life in prison.

Corey Deen Saunders was sentenced Thursday for the January 2008 rape of the boy at the New Bedford Public Library. He pleaded guilty in February.

Prosecutors said Saunders lured the boy into a reading room at the library while the victim's mother worked on a computer only a few feet away. At the time of the attack, Saunders was a Level 3 sex offender and was on probation after serving four years in prison for the attempted rape of a 7-year-old boy.

The Bristol District Attorney's office sought a life sentence for Saunders in part because of the ages of the victims in both cases.

The 27-year-old Saunders will be eligible for parole after 15 years.

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