A man who took a 9-year-old girl from a New York campground and held her captive for almost three days has been given a 47-year to life prison sentence for his crimes.
Craig Ross admitted guilt in February to kidnapping and predatory sexual assault of a child. as reported by CrimeOnline. He was charged with taking the 9-year-old girl from her bike at Moreau Lake State Park on September 30, triggering an Amber Alert and a frantic search that ended at his trailer in his mother’s backyard.
Investigators found a fingerprint on a ransom note he left at the girl’s home, leading them to the location.
Saratoga County Assistant District Attorney Jennifer Buckley read a statement from the victim at Thursday’s sentencing as she did not attend.
“You were haunting my thoughts, but now, I will be haunting yours,” the prosecutor read, as per WTEN. “Eventually, I might forget you, but you won’t forget me. You will never be able to affect anyone again.”
“I felt alone. Now you will be alone, too,” she wrote, according to the Times Union. “Someone will always be watching you, like someone was watching me. You’ll be treated wrong, like I was treated wrong.”
“You will crumble, and I will be standing tall,” she wrote, and expressed her desire to be a therapist when she grows up.
Other family members also addressed Ross.
The girl’s mother stated, “There will never be a sentence that is sufficient for what you did to my daughter. You were shown leniency.”
“Even after what you did to her, she was so concerned for your cat,” she said to Ross. “And she asked if you did this to her because someone did it to you.”
Ross received a 25-year to life sentence for kidnapping and a 22-year to life sentence for the rape, to be served consecutively.
“He will be 93 years old when he’s even eligible to talk about parole consideration,” Saratoga County District Attorney Karen Heggen told reporters in February.
[Featured image: FILE – Craig Ross at his November 2023 arraignment. Will Waldron/The Albany Times-Union via AP, file]