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Ronald Gregory

Ronald Gregory is serving an 18- to 47-year prison sentence for raping and robbing a 78-year-old woman.

He deserves it, a state Superior Court panel ruled Tuesday.

The court reached that decision in rejecting an appeal by the Philadelphia man, who claimed his penalty was far too severe.

According to the state court opinion by Senior Judge Patricia H. Jenkins, Gregory, then 24, entered the Germantown home of the victim, whom he did not know, as she slept on the night of July 26, 2012. Police said he raped her, then stole cash and her TV.

A witness saw Gregory leaving the woman's home while carrying the TV, investigators said, and DNA evidence tied him to the rape.

Gregory received his prison term after pleading no contest to charges of rape, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, robbery and burglary. The Philadelphia judge who sentenced him said the brutality of the crime "just takes your breath away."

In finding that Gregory's punishment was not "unduly harsh," Jenkins noted the district attorney sought a sentence of 40 to 80 years in prison.