Jurors on Friday found an Allegheny Township man guilty of four rapes and the sexual assaults of two other woman in crimes prosecutors said dated back to the early 2000s.

Eric Wright, 50, could receive up to 100 years in prison for the rape offenses, according to Westmoreland County District Attorney Nicole Ziccarelli.

“Justice has been served today and a serial sexual predator has been taken off the streets,” Ziccarelli said in a statement. “Eric Wright’s reign of terror over the Vandergrift community and county at large is now at an end. We are extremely pleased with the jury’s verdict and our office will continue to seek the maximum sentence for offenders who prey on our community’s children and most vulnerable.”

She said prosecutors will seek consecutive maximum sentences for each victim when Wright is sentenced in about three months by Westmoreland County Common Pleas Court Judge Meagan Bilik-DeFazio.

Jurors deliberated less than two hours before reaching guilty verdicts in all six criminal cases against Wright. In all, he was convicted of 24 charges including multiple counts of rape, indecent assault, sexual assault and other offenses.

Prosecutors said Wright raped a then 12-year-old girl at least three times in 2019. He also was accused of raping a woman, now in her 30s, when she was a teen in the early 2000s. Two other woman testified during the four-day trial they were raped by Wright.

Two other woman alleged they were victims of sex crimes by Wright. One claimed she was molested by Wright as a teen more than a decade ago and the other told jurors Wright exposed himself to her in a local business.

Assistant District Attorney Christina Gongaware, in her closing argument to the jury, said Wright looked for small, vulnerable victims and grew bolder with each sexual assault until he was first reported by a teen.

“It was almost too easy for him to get away with this for such a long time,” Gongaware said.

Prosecutors relied on testimony from all six victims en route to the conviction. No physical evidence was presented to support the allegations.

A psychologist who specializes in sexual abuse told jurors it was common for rape victims to delay reporting allegations. A pediatrician told jurors that in more than 90% of cases where juveniles are raped by adults, there is no physical evidence of the assault.

The defense claimed that lack of evidence should have led to an acquittal.

“You have to find him not guilty because they can’t prove their case beyond a reasonable doubt,” said defense attorney Emily Smarto.

Wright was one of two defense witnesses to testify. He denied the allegations and claimed his accusers made up the allegations as a means to collect a portion of a $350,000 settlement he received after he was bit by a dog and injured while working as a delivery man for UPS.

A jury failed to reach a verdict following Wright’s first trial last September, resulting in a mistrial.

Copyright ©2025— Trib Total Media, LLC (TribLIVE.com)