A man convicted of raping a victim behind a southwest Atlanta church was sentenced to life in prison plus 15 years.
Kristopher Roberson, 38, of Sparta, was convicted of rape, aggravated sodomy, aggravated assault, kidnapping and false imprisonment in the Aug. 8, 2014 attack. He was convicted of the crimes April 25.
Roberson forced his victim in his car at knifepoint, took her behind Mt. Moriah Baptist Church on Joseph E. Lowery Boulevard and sexually assaulted her, the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office said.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution does not identify victims in sexual assault cases. The victim’s age was not released.
RELATED| Man convicted of raping victim behind southwest Atlanta church
The victim was walking along Smith Street after leaving her aunt’s home when Roberson pulled his gold Jeep beside her and jumped out with a black pocket knife, Fulton County District Attorney’s Office spokesman Chris Hopper said in a news release. Roberson then forced the victim into his Jeep and parked at the church.
From there, Roberson ordered her to the backseat and sodomized her, Hopper said. He raped her, knife in hand.
“Shortly thereafter, she managed to escape the vehicle and ran from the scene,” Hopper said. “Roberson drove away from the church in his Jeep.”
Looking for help, the victim happened to knock on the door of a retired police officer who then called 911, according to the release. Roberson was soon arrested a few blocks away from the crime scene. His Jeep was also found nearby.
Roberson committed a similar crime only a few weeks earlier.
According to The Telegraph of Macon, on July 26, 2014, Roberson pulled a knife on a woman, took her to a vacant home and assaulted her. Initially charged with rape and aggravated sodomy, he was convicted of aggravated assault with the intent to rape in the Bibb County case, Fulton officials said while announcing his Atlanta conviction.
Bibb County officials used his DNA in the Atlanta case to identify him as a suspect in the Macon rape case.
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