RICHLAND TOWNSHIP, Pa. – Joshua Wright, 22, was sentenced by Bucks County Judge Kenneth Biehn to 15 to 30 years in state prison for the 2003 attempted murder and rape of a then 17-year-old girl walking to her school bus.
Wright pleaded guilty in 2004 to the charges and has been further sentenced by the judge to 10 years probation. He will also have to register with the state police as a sexually violent predator under the state’s version of Megan’s Law.
On Oct. 10, 2003, Wright ambushed the girl from his hiding place in the woods just as she was walking to her school bus stop. He bludgeoned her with a crowbar and then pulled her into the woods, where he attempted to rape her but was scared off by nearby voices.
The girl was able to make her way home afterwards but suffered an 80-percent loss of hearing in her left ear as well as a fractured skull.
A day later, a K-9 dog tracking Wright’s scent led police to Wright’s motel, where he was identified as matching the girl’s description and arrested.
