Child Predator to Appeal 160-Year Jail Sentence

John Allen Wright, a Milton man who transported Seacoast-area children for the Provider bus company, will reportedly appeal the 160-year prison sentence handed down last week after he pleaded guilty to federal charges alleging he sexually abused autistic children on his route.

Foster's Daily Democrat has reported that Wright, 47, who was sentenced Friday on five counts of sexual exploitation of children and one count of possession of child pornography in U.S. District Court in Concord, has filed a notice of appeal with the court. The paper has also reported that a video status conference for state-level charges pending against Wright has been scheduled for 9 a.m. on March 13 in Strafford County Superior Court in Dover.

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Prosecutors in the federal case have previously said the 160-year sentence, the harshest ever handed out by the state for child sexual exploitation, sends a message to individuals looking to take advantage of children in New Hampshire.

"While a sentence of this duration is beyond man’s capacity to serve, justice for the young victims and a just punishment for this Defendant are beyond our capacity to achieve," wrote U.S. Attorney John P. Kacavas in a release last week. "Therefore, only the maximum possible punishment authorized by law is appropriate and like-minded individuals who seek to prey on our children be warned.”