A man convicted of attempted rape and assault on a woman who was nine months pregnant was sentenced this week to 15 years in prison.
The woman reported a man tackled her, attempted to remove her clothes and punched her repeatedly in the face.
Anthony B. Smith Jr., who pleaded guilty to the charges earlier this month, was sentenced Wednesday to 15 years in prison – eight years for felonious assault and seven for attempted rape, according to a court official.
He must also register as a sex offender for life.
The attack took place June 22 on as the woman was walking her dog.
She would later recount the incident in a Facebook post, writing that she tried to gouge the attacker's eyes out as he ripped at her clothing. He told her "just let me do it," she wrote, and rubbed his face on her stomach and pelvic area.
The woman said the man started punching her in the face. She worried she would black out.
During the attack, a group of people heard the commotion and rushed to help. Three men, the woman said, held Smith down, while others tended to her and called 911.
A series of mental illness diagnoses kept Smith out of prison.
The week of the attack, Smith was being held at Summit Behavioral Heath after a series of court cases involving at least two assaults, drug charges and a situation in which officers used a Taser on him four times but were still unable to subdue him.
In April, four cases were dismissed against Smith when he was found mentally incompetent to stand trial and "unrestorable," meaning court-ordered medication or other therapies would not restore his sanity.
Smith was then sent to Summit Behavior Health and was under the care of a physician. It was up to the doctor to determine if and when Smith should be released
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