Norfolk District District Attorney Michael W. Morrissey praised the victim of 1995 assault and rape in a Weymouth church.

“I cannot overstate the courage demonstrated by this woman,” Morrissey said in a written statement. “She was a very young girl, working part-time answering phones at the rectory, when she was attacked. She helped police at the time and agreed, notwithstanding the passage of time, to persevere until the end. I am extremely gratified for her that the end was just.”

The victim, who was 17 at the time of the assault, testified at trial against Weymouth priest William Burton III.

Burton , 43, was brought back from Maryland to face charges in Norfolk Superior Court after DNA linked him to a 1995 rape in Weymouth, according W. Morrissey.

Authorities made the connection after Burton was arrested in 2010 and eventually convicted of attempted murder in a Maryland attack, with similarities to the Weymouth crime. Burton’s DNA had been entered into a national database as part of that case, and was linked to evidence from the Weymouth rape, according to a press release

Burton was believed to have surprised the victim while she was working in the rectory, threw a towel over her head and dragged her into the basement of that building, where he engaged in a prolonged and brutal assault, according to the press release.

Burton was convicted of aggravated rape and kidnapping after a two-week jury trial. The verdict was reached on Wednesday.

According to the Boston Herald, Burton was already doing life in Maryland for attempted murder and won’t begin his bit here unless he’s released when he becomes eligible for parole in 15 years.