The man who raped a woman in a deserted concourse in Denver International Airport was sentenced Friday to six years to life in prison, KDVR.com reported.
Noel Bertrand, a former Marine who worked security detail at various U.S. embassies, was found guilty in September of raping a 22-year-old woman on April 12, 2011.
At his trial, prosecutors said Bertrand and the woman were talking at a restaurant in the airport and then moved to Concourse A when the restaurant closed around midnight, the report said.
The woman testified that Bertrand started choking her with the strings of her sweatshirt and forced her to the ground and raped her. The assault lased about half an hour, KDVR.com reported.
His defense attorneys argued the sexual encounter was a case of "rough play" and that the victim consented to having sex with him.
However, the jury agreed with prosecutors that Bertrand in fact attacked her by showing the jury evidence that the woman refused to kiss Bertrand and that she could not cry out because the attack triggered an asthma attack.
Two airline mechanics were able to rescue the woman by pulling Bertrand off her.
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