Estimated read time: Less than a minute
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
DECATUR, Ga. (AP) — A former Lyft driver has been sentenced to 35 years in prison for raping a female passenger.
News outlets report 40-year-old Jerome Antonio Booze was convicted Monday of raping the passenger while taking her home in 2016.
Judge Ann Harris sentenced him Tuesday after Senior Assistant District Attorney Courtney Veal read a statement from the woman, whose identity hasn't been released. It said the woman was leaving a friend's 21st birthday party one night that December when she was attacked.
Booze and his attorney had previously argued the woman was "asking for it." They said Booze didn't know the woman was drunk, despite her being picked up from a bar, having trouble walking and speaking, and passing out.
Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
