A former Lewiston karate instructor has been sentenced to 60 years for raping two of his male students who were under the age of 12.
Wade Robert Hoover, 38, of Augusta already was sentenced to 40 years in federal prison for the production and possession of child pornography and will serve the two sentences concurrently. He’ll go to a state facility after his federal sentence is finished.
Justice Michaela Murphy sentenced Hoover for the state charges in an Augusta court.
The Kennebec Journal reports Hoover asked for the victims’ families’ forgiveness during Wednesday’s court appearance.
The mother of one of the boys asked the judge to make sure Hoover spends the rest of his life behind bars.
The defense cited Hoover’s military service, cooperation with prosecutors and standing in the community as reasons for a lighter sentence.
If Hoover is ever released from custody, the judge sentenced him to a lifetime of state supervision, according to WGME.
Hoover pleaded guilty to the federal charges in February 2013, when he admitted he sexually assaulted two boys younger than 12 who took karate lessons from him at his Lewiston studio and recorded the assaults.
He did not share the images on the Internet, according to court documents.
Hoover was indicted on the state charges of gross sexual assault after entering guilty pleas in U.S. District Court.
In August, the Maine Supreme Judicial Court dismissed Hoover’s challenge of the rape indictments in Kennebec and Somerset counties. He pleaded guilty to four counts of gross sexual assault in November.
Information from The Associated Press and the Bangor Daily News was used in this report.
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