Florida — A man who viciously raped and beat an 18-year-old woman, leaving her blind, paralyzed, and unable to speak, has been resentenced to three consecutive life sentences for his heinous crimes.

Kendrick Morris was just 16 years old when he ambushed Queena Phu in 2008 outside a Florida library at night. Phu had gone to return a book and was on the phone with a friend when Morris attacked her. He dragged her behind the building, raped her, and beat her so savagely that she was left with permanent, life-altering injuries.

Phu survived the horrific assault but has required full-time care ever since.

Investigators later linked Morris to another brutal rape committed just months earlier, in which he attacked a 62-year-old daycare worker at knifepoint.

Morris was convicted in 2011 of both attacks and originally sentenced to 65 years in prison. However, because he was a juvenile at the time of the crimes, a subsequent U.S. Supreme Court ruling made him eligible for resentencing.

In 2017, Morris returned to court hoping for a reduced sentence. Instead, a judge increased his punishment, sentencing him to three consecutive life sentences.

The case continues to serve as a stark reminder of the devastating long-term impact of violent crime on victims and their families. Queena Phu’s survival and courage in the face of such unimaginable trauma have been widely recognized.

Morris remains behind bars serving his life sentences.