Associated Press

CHARLOTTE -- A man considered a person of interest in the North Carolina school bus stop shooting of his pregnant adoptive sister was sentenced by a judge to spend 2 1/2 years in prison for violating his probation on a drug charge.

Multiple media outlets reported U.S. Chief District Judge Bob Conrad ruled Wednesday there was enough evidence to show 36-year-old Royce Mitchell committed statutory rape with the 15-year-old girl, even though criminal charges were dropped because the baby's DNA didn't match Mitchell.

Some of the most significant evidence against Mitchell came from Tiffany Wright herself in a taped interview she gave police before she was gunned down waiting for the bus in Charlotte on Sept. 14. She was eight months pregnant, and the baby died too.

In a quiet voice, the teen said Mitchell didn't force her to have sex with him. But she said he did pressure her to get an abortion.

Hearings on whether to revoke probation don't require as high a threshold of evidence as finding someone guilty in a criminal case, and the judge found the teen's words credible.

"I found her to be sincere," Conrad said. "I found her to be embarrassed to talk about the details."

Police also call Mitchell a person of interest in his adoptive sister's death, which he denies, along with the allegations he had sex with the teen.

"I did not have sex with Tiffany. I most certainly did not," Mitchell said before he was sentenced. "This is definitely a nightmare for me and my family. I wish Tiffany could be here."

Mitchell's attorney argued the teen was rebellious and didn't always tell the truth. Two teenage boys testified they also had sex with the girl and one of them said he was told he was the father of her baby.

Mitchell only offered to pay for an abortion because he wanted to help Wright, defense lawyer Claire Rauscher told the judge.

"He was looking out for her interests," Rauscher said.