Adedoja Olaniyi Bah was sentenced to spend the rest of his life behind bars Wednesday, the Douglas County District Attorney's Office said in a news release. He was convicted on 12 counts in late October after a six-day jury trial.
On July 15, 2017, Bah chased the victim into some woods near the Reserve at Sweetwater Apartments where she lived before punching her, throwing her to the ground and holding her down, the release said. He then raped and sodomized her.
During the attack, Bah threatened to kill her if she resisted, the release said.
The victim frantically ran to a family friend’s apartment for help after the attack, while Bah calmly walked to his vehicle and drove away, the release said.
Bah was arrested the following month by the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office, AJC.com previously reported. He was visiting the United States at the time of the incident, officials said. He is from Nigeria and last lived in Japan.
Investigators were able to find surveillance footage that showed Bah chase the victim into the woods, and two types of DNA evidence helped tie Bah to the crime, the release said. The victim also testified during the trial.
The jury returned the guilty verdict after less than an hour of deliberation.
Bah was convicted of rape, aggravated sodomy, aggravated sexual battery, false imprisonment, aggravated assault, terroristic threats, battery, two counts of child molestation and two counts of aggravated child molestation.
He received the maximum sentence allowed by law, which Deputy Chief Assistant District Attorney Samantha J. Newnan requested. She cited the “severity of the attack, the age of the victim, and (Bah’s) complete lack of remorse” as the reasons for the strict sentencing.
Before he was sentenced, Bah asked the court for mercy in the case, requesting to be allowed to return to Nigeria, the release said. That request was denied.
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