Updated

A New York City man convicted of raping his former stepdaughter in an attack she disclosed years later in a college application essay has been sentenced to 18 years in prison.

The 62-year-old man was sentenced Monday in Brooklyn.

Brooklyn prosecutors say he repeatedly raped his then-stepdaughter in 2003, when she was 8. She kept the secret for years until penning the essay in 2012. Her mother saw it and called police.

The couple divorced. The ex-stepfather denies the rape allegations.

The Associated Press is withholding the man's name because disclosing it could identify his accuser. The AP generally does not identify victims of sexual assault unless they come forward publicly.