AUGUSTA (AP) — A Maine man has been sentenced to 15 years in prison for breaking into a neighbor’s home in the town of China and sexually assaulting her just minutes after her husband had left for work.
James Bickford was sentenced Monday in Kennebec County Superior Court to 25 years, with 15 to serve and the remaining 10 on probation. The 34-year-old U.S. Marine Corps veteran pleaded guilty in January to gross sexual assault and a burglary in connection with the drunken late night attack last July.
The 21-year-old victim ran naked to another home to get help.
The Kennebec Journal reports that Bickford tearfully apologized in court, said he was ashamed and vowed never to drink again.
Authorities say Bickford used to live in the victim’s home and still had a key.
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