Sacramento judge sentences man who raped woman trying to end relationship
A Sacramento Superior Court judge sentenced a man to 57 years and four months in prison for beating and raping a woman he was dating after she tried to end the relationship.
Judge Amy Holliday sentenced Josani Japhil Goree, 29, on Friday for the assault that occurred last year. A jury on Oct. 9 found Goree guilty of forcible rape, forcible oral copulation, sodomy by force, making criminal threats and damaging a cell phone, the Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office announced in a news release.
On the night of May 12, after the woman tried to end her relationship with Goree, he forced her to drive him around in her car by choking and hitting her, prosecutors said. Goree broke her cell phone when she tried to call for help.
She tried to escape throughout the night by using pepper spray and running away. Prosecutors said Goree took the woman to an apartment, where he forced her to perform sex acts and raped her.
The woman reported the attack to police the following day. An exam showed she suffered multiple physical injuries, including bruising, redness and swelling. Prosecutors said authorities in the investigation collected traces of DNA that matched Goree.
The Elk Grove Police Department arrested and booked Goree on May 14 at the Sacramento County Main Jail. He remained in custody Wednesday at the jail, where he awaits a transfer to a prison.
