Repeat Rapist Sentenced To Life Without Parole

ATLNATA -- A man who had been arrested 26 times by police on various felonies and with nine felony convictions has been sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for raping and sodomizing an Atlanta woman while she slept. A Fulton County Superior Court jury found Antonio Thomas, 53, guilty of raping a 23-year-old woman on May 14, 2016.

At the time, the victim’s boyfriend, who was also in the bed with her, woke her up and said he was going to the store. The victim fell back asleep, but a short time later, awoke to Thomas raping and sodomizing her.

The victim started yelling at Thomas and that’s when he stopped attacking her. She then
chased the defendant out of the home and down the street from where she lived. The victim’s
boyfriend saw her chasing the defendant out of the house and joined in. The defendant ran from the victim and her boyfriend and never returned.

Thomas and the victim’s boyfriend had been friends since second grade, and the defendant was staying in their apartment as a guest, prior to the rape. Police arrested Thomas on August 4, 2016, almost three months after he raped the victim.

Thomas was convicted of rape in 1996, in DeKalb County.

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