A judge sentenced a Bryan man to 46 years in prison Monday after a jury convicted the man of raping his niece's 16-year-old half-sister.
The 38-year-old man was convicted of aggravated sexual assault of a child in Brazos County court earlier this month. He chose to go before District Judge Travis Bryan III for punishment.
Prosecutors said the man threatened the 16-year-old with a knife, raped her and forced her to perform oral sex on him in her bedroom in May 2008. They presented DNA evidence and the teenager's testimony during the first phase of the trial.
The teenager testified that she didn't know that she knew the man at the time she was being raped because his face was covered. She realized it after he was arrested and matched the description she gave police, she said.
It is The Eagle's policy not to identify people charged with sexual assault when it could reveal the identity of the victim.
The man faces three charges of aggravated sexual assault, each punishable by up to 99 years in prison.
Assistant District Attorney Ray Thomas asked the judge to sentence the man to 60 years for each count, and to stack the sentences so they didn't run concurrently.
"This is a case that involves violence on another person," Thomas said. "He not only sexually assaulted her, but he threatened violence and death upon her."
Defense attorney Rick Davis requested a 25-year sentence.
"Sixty years is the same as life, and accumulating it is a guarantee that this man will die in prison," Davis said, asking the judge to temper justice with mercy.
Bryan offered no explanation when he informed the man of his sentence. If he serves his whole term, the man will be in his 80s when he is released from prison.
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