A former Wake County teacher was sentenced Monday to spend decades in prison for a rape that occurred near Glenwood South in June 2022.
Joshua David Becker, now 38, was arrested in Virginia a week after the June 13, 2022, assault and charged with first-degree forcible rape, first-degree sexual offense, first-degree kidnapping and assault inflicting serious bodily injury.
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In court on Monday, Becker pleaded guilty to six felony counts. He was sentenced to consecutive 20-to-29 year sentences for each count, so he will spend the rest of his life in jail.
In court, Assistant District Attorney Kathryn Pomeroy shared a horrifying account of Becker overpowering a much smaller woman and pummeling her until she submitted.
Becker and his victim were strangers, Pomeroy said.
"[He was] behind her in a chokehold, dragging her down the sidewalk and down into a wooded area off a wooded sidewalk," Pomeroy described.
The victim, who will not be identified, addressed Becker in court on Monday, saying, "I live with fear ... I expect I will cope with emotional injuries and mental health challenges the rest of my life.”
WRAL News was in the courtroom as the victim turned to Judge Graham Shirley and said, "There were multiple chances for him to decide to not. I was screaming. He continued. I screamed, begged for my life, pleaded for my life. And he continued.”
Becker spoke to the judge for nearly an hour, talking about his entire life and the people this impacted. Roughly five of those minutes were devoted to apologizing directly to the victim.
"There are no words meaningful enough to speak how I feel about what I did to you," he said. "I’m so sorry for the hell I put you through and your family today. No one should have to live with this."
On Monday in his final statement, Becker said that he worked as a teacher for at least 10 years, adding, "I will never forgive myself."
Online records show Becker worked at Holly Ridge Elementary and Buckhorn Creek Elementary two years before the rape occured.
Referencing the victim, who will not be identified, the judge said to Becker, "She will never be free from that night, and neither will you."