A Savannah man on Thursday was convicted on rape and related charges in a 2007 assault and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Jerry Lewis Howard, 50, also was convicted by the Chatham County Superior Court jury on charges of aggravated assault and child cruelty.
Judge Michael Karpf sentenced Howard, who has five prior felony convictions and was tried as a recidivist, which makes him ineligible for parole.
Assistant District Attorney Frank Pennington II told jurors that on Nov. 29, 2007, the victim returned to Howard’s home on East Waldburg Street to retrieve belongings she neglected to collect when the pair broke up a month prior.
The two had a disagreement and Howard subsequently choked the 28- year-old victim to near unconsciousness and raped her in front of her 1-year-old daughter, Pennington’s evidence showed.
The woman was able to escape by convincing Howard to let her call a cab to retrieve her car.
Evidence submitted included phone recordings of Howard later apologizing for his actions.
Howard was also convicted and found guilty of these crimes in a prior 2010 case but was granted a retrial by Chatham County Superior Court Judge John E. Morse.