Mpanurwa, who was credited with three years of jail time credit, also faces eight years of post-release control.
“I’m glad this day is finally here and that someone is going to pay for what he did to me and that he cannot do it to someone else,” the now 93-year-old victim said during a victim impact statement. “I just hope he’s the one that’s going to pay, it’s over for me but for him it’s just starting.”
Prosecutors said that on July 14, 2013, Mpanurwa grabbed the victim from the Radio Road bike path, knocked her down, dragged her to a grassy area and raped her — breaking her arm in the process.
Police said she walked home and told her son about the attack. She was treated at a local hospital and a rape exam was performed.
Through an interpreter, Mpanurwa said: “People say I did it but I know what I did leading up to it and honestly I don’t know what happened.”
Mpanurwa’s defense attorney said he would have liked to enter a plea of guilty by reason of insanity, but Montgomery County assistant prosecutor Lynda Dodd said, “No voices told him to …. rape this woman, in fact what he reported was he knew rape was wrong.”
Mpanurwa was linked to the crime through DNA, which was in the Combined DNA Index System database due to prior sexual assault allegations. Mpanurwa was on probation in Georgia, where he was convicted of misdemeanor attempted sexual battery.
Mpanurwa was found guilty of rape, felonious assault and kidnapping. Dankof merged the rape and kidnapping counts for sentencing.
“This defendant brutally attacked and raped a 90 year old victim,” Montgomery County Prosecutor Mat Heck Jr. said in a press release. “He deserves to spend every minute of his sentence in prison.
“I want to commend the victim for having the courage to come forward and not only report the crimes, but also to come into court and confront her attacker.”
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