"I'm sorry for the families that had to go through this, but, it's not me. And if it makes them feel better to say it's me then okay. But just remember, I told you so," said convicted rapist Darius Ashley.
Ashley is going to prison for a very long time, 25 years, for violent crimes that he was sentenced for just hours earlier -- two rapes and an attempted kidnapping. But despite his voluntary plea in court, Ashley, in a jail house interview, said he's not guilty.
He said, "65 to life compared to 20 years, 15 if I'm a saint. But, I know it's not going to go like that. I'd rather be able to come home and hold my grandchildren if my daughters have kids. Or at least be able to come home at some point."
Ashley said he wasn't the one who tried to kidnap 14-year-old Hackett Middle School student Stephanie Quackenbush. He said the rape of the 23-year-old women was consensual. As for the other rape, he said he didn't realize the girl was just 14.
Police said they have DNA evidence linking him to all three crimes. They also looked into the possibility that he was connected to the murder of another Hackett Middle School student, Gretchan Perham.
When asked if he knew Perham, Ashley said no. When asked if he killed Perham, he also responded no.
An Albany man will spend 25 years behind bars for raping two women and attempting to abduct a teenage girl. But Darius Ashley had something to say before he was locked up, a story he told only to Capital News 9's Danielle Strauss.
Ashley moved to Albany from Brooklyn back in 1993. Ashley is now engaged and hopes to be married while serving out his time. He said he was trying to get his life back on track after a 1999 drug arrests, when the latest trouble happened.
"I've been shot, I've been stabbed, I've been cut. The only thing I haven't done is been sent to my final resting place," he said.
Ashley is currently being held at the Albany County Jail but he will be transported downstate in a week or so to sere his time. He said he's not scared, he is just sad he won't see his two daughters until they are all grown up.
Ashley said, "I'll be home one day, just that I'll be home one day."