WASHINGTON - A 37-year-old Washington, D.C. man was sentenced today in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia by the Honorable Rufus G. King III to 72 months (6 years) in prison and five years of supervised release for sexually assaulting his wife in 2007, U.S. Attorney Jeffrey A. Taylor announced.

The defendant, whose name is being withheld to protect the identity of his wife, will also have to register as a sex offender for life. On May 27, 2008, a Superior Court jury found the defendant guilty of two counts of First Degree Sexual Abuse.

The evidence at trial established that on November 20, 2007, the defendant was at his Southeast home (PSA 705) with the victim when he demanded that she have sex with him. When the victim refused to have sex with the defendant, he beat her, held her down by her wrists and raped her. Two weeks earlier, the victim and the defendant, who are married and have a child in common, had agreed to separate.

In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Taylor commended lead Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) Detective Wandella Fields, who did an exemplary job investigating the case and working with the victim and other witnesses. He also praised the outstanding assistance of MPD Detective Wallace Carmichael, Mobile Crime Officers Kevin Jeter and Ridley Durham, Officers Edward Woodward and Eboni Merritt from the Seventh District, and Sergeant Lance Harrison. He also commended the work of Paralegal Gena Johnson, Legal Assistant Tiffany Jones, and Kimberly Smith, Timothy Linder, and Joe Calvarese from Litigation Services. Finally, U.S. Attorney Taylor expressed his appreciation to Victim/Witness Advocate Meshall Thomas, who worked closely with the victim, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Tracey Lankler, who investigated and prosecuted this case.