Level 3 Sex offender sentenced for repeated rape of woman

Level 3 Sex offender sentenced for repeated rape of woman http://sorb.chs.state.ma.us/ResultDetail.asp?btn33174=Detail The MetroWest Daily News Posted Sep 04, 2012 WOBURN — On Feb. 18, 2010, William French forced a Framingham woman into her own home and repeatedly raped her. That young woman, speaking in Middlesex Superior Court on Tuesday after French pleaded guilty to the rapes, said those attacks changed her forever. Judge Diane Kottmyer sentenced French to 25 to 30 years in prison. "I never imagined I would think about my life as a before and after," said the woman, who is not being identified because she is a victim of rape. "I never really knew what fear was like until that night. I'm a grown woman afraid of the dark." French, 31, was angry at his girlfriend when he began walking that night. He came upon the woman, who he had never met, grabbed her as she got her mail around 9:30 p.m., and dragged her into the house, threatening to kill her if she did not listen to him, prosecutor Heidi Lyn Gosule said. In the house, the woman said she just stared at the wall, praying for the rape to end. "I kept hoping God would hear me and make it stop," the woman said in court, as French kept his head down, never looking up as she spoke. After the first rape, French then attacked her again. "I remember the anger and rage when I realized he was going to rape me again and me not being able to do anything to stop it," she said. "He told me I was a good person and I was going to be able to get by it." After the initial rapes, French forced the woman to take him to an ATM in Natick to get him money so he could buy cigarettes. When they returned to her house, he again raped her, Gosule said. While French used the bathroom, the woman ran out and screamed for help, but French dragged her back. He attempted to tie her up with tape, but police arrived and arrested him, the prosecutor said. French immediately confessed, and told police what he had done. French again made those admissions on Tuesday when Kottmyer questioned him about his plea. "This decision is based on my clear rational conscience," said French. "I'm doing this for (the victim) because I feel it's the right thing to do to bring justice." At the time of the rape, French was on probation after serving eight to nine years in prison for a 2001 aggravated rape in Framingham. After he was released, he violated his probation by smoking marijuana and he was placed on a GPS monitoring bracelet. While driving with the victim that night, he cut the GPS unit off, Gosule said. French pleaded guilty to three counts of aggravated rape (subsequent offense), two counts of burglary to commit assault, kidnapping, unarmed robbery, stealing by confinement, malicious destruction of property worth more than $250 and two counts of assault and battery. Gosule asked Kottmyer to sentence French to the 25 to 30 years in prison, based on his criminal history and the violence of the attack. She also said, since his arrest, French has continued his criminal ways. In 2011, he kidnapped a Worcester County jail employee and tried to rape her. He also committed assault and battery on a jail guard. He pleaded guilty to those charges in Worcester Superior Court and is serving 10 to 15 years in prison. French told Kottmyer he never wants to be free again. "I stand here as a man who is guilty of every charge," said French. "I'm not proud. I feel ashamed. I feel embarrassed. I want to bring her closure. I know she hates me and her family hates me and that's their right. I'm truly sorry for what I did to her. When I die, when I take my last breath, I'm going to be in a prison cell." Kottmyer adopted Gosule's recommendation. The sentence won't start until he finishes the Worcester County sentence. Once released, French will be on lifetime parole and will be on probation for 10 years. The victim said although her life has changed, her goals have not. "Someday I will get married, I will have a family and I will be a mom," she said. "Those were all things I wanted to accomplish before that night and those are things I want to accomplish now. Every day of my life I will have to live with the scars he gave me, but it won't ruin me." (Norman Miller can be reached at 508-626-3823 or nmiller@wickedlocal.com. For up-to-date crime news, follow Norman Miller on Twitter at @Norman_MillerMW). Read more: http://www.metrowestdailynews.com/news/x1526495475/Framingham-man-sentenced-for-repeated-rape-of-woman#ixzz25guZdjFk