AUBURN — A Wales man pleaded guilty to manslaughter and sexual assault charges Friday, but only after he was confronted in court by the people most affected by his crimes.

Christopher Austin was sentenced to nearly 10 years in prison — seven years on charges of gross sexual assault and another 2½ years for the 2012 shooting death of a man in Wales.

For more than five intense minutes, the young woman Austin sexually assaulted addressed the court, her voice choked by tears, her eyes narrowing to slits as she gazed upon her former abuser.

For an hour, Austin sat in Androscoggin County Superior Court glumly answering a series of questions as he prepared to plead guilty to one count of manslaughter and three counts of gross sexual assault.

“This is an important decision for you,” Justice MaryGay Kennedy reminded him.

Shaved bald, bearded and shackled, Austin mostly stared at the floor as he was asked whether he understood the consequences of the guilty plea, including the fact that he’d be forced to register as a sex offender for the remainder of his life.

“Yes,” he said after each question was put forth.

In late December, Austin was charged with multiple counts of gross sexual assault after Androscoggin County Sheriff’s investigators uncovered evidence that he had sexually abused a girl multiple times when she was between the ages of 8 and 15.

At the time he was accused of those crimes, Austin had already been charged with manslaughter in the 2012 shooting death of Gerard Parent, a Wales father and grandfather who was shot and killed near his home.

According to court testimony, Austin believed he was shooting at a deer when he opened fire with a hunting rifle on Nov. 12, 2012. Parent, who investigators say was after the same deer, was shot in the chest.

Prosecutors from the Attorney General’s Office told the court they were prepared to introduce several witnesses, including neighbors and emergency responders, if the case went to trial.

With Friday’s guilty pleas, there will be no trial, but simply admitting to the crimes was the formal part of the process. What followed were several emotional minutes as the victims of Austin’s crimes stood at the front the courtroom and described their grief.

The victim of Austin’s repeated sexual assaults was first. Now a teenager, she stood before the microphone, dressed entirely in black and unable to begin speaking for a full minute. When she did speak, her voice was soft and cracking with tears. She described Austin as a sick man in desperate need of help, taking long pauses and swiping at her eyes as she went on.

Several times, the young woman gazed directly at Austin, her eyes squinted, her mouth drawn down in a frown. Occasionally, Austin gazed back at her, his face blank, eyes dry. While the woman spoke, others in the courtroom cleared their throats and wiped tears from their eyes.

When she was finished, the young woman took a final look at Austin before nodding emphatically and walking away from the microphone.

Justice Kennedy thanked her, describing the young woman as brave for describing the years of abuse.

“None of that,” Kennedy told her, “was your fault.”

Austin blinked rapidly as his victim walked away. Then he resumed gazing at the courtroom carpet as the wife of Gerard Parent walked to the front of the courtroom.

Parent’s widow, Becky Ann Brown, spoke briefly, allowing a court official to read a text describing her life since her husband was shot and killed. She can’t hold a job, she told the court, because of the turmoil caused by the loss of her husband. She no longer decorates for Christmas or enjoys the things she once did.

“I’m not the person I used to be,” according to Brown’s written testimony. “I’m not the person I want to be.”

She described her late husband, 49, when he was shot and killed, as hardworking, responsible, “organized to a fault” and kind.

“He could make a friend out of anyone,” she wrote. “We were supposed to grow old together.”

After hearing testimony from the victims, Kennedy told Austin that he deserved more prison time than prosecutors were suggesting. In the end, however, she accepted the sentencing recommendations that will keep Austin behind bars for 9½ years. He was ordered to serve nine years of probation following his release, and to pay more than $5,000 in restitution.

When Austin is freed from prison, he will be required immediately to register as a sex offender. He is prohibited from hunting or owning firearms.

mlaflamme@sunjournal.com