Man sentenced to more than ten years in prison for sexually abusing a 15-year-old relative in 2015

WASHINGTON (7News) — A man has been sentenced to ten and a half years in prison for sexually abusing his 15-year-old relative in 2015, a High Court judge ruled on Thursday.

Government evidence shows that 61-year-old Gary Bellinger sexually assaulted a girl he was related to in 2015. At the time of the abuse, the girl was 15 years old, officials said. Years later, in 2020, the girl told her family about the abuse, according to government evidence.

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After serving his time in prison, Bellinger was also sentenced to three years of supervised release and must register as a sex offender for the rest of his life, officials said.

Superior Court Judge Maribeth Raffinan said Bellinger was found guilty in May of one count of first-degree child sexual abuse and one count of second-degree child sexual abuse after a four-day trial in D.C.