A 27-year-old Greeley man was sentenced to 62 years to life in prison today for holding an high school student captive and raping her in her apartment in January.
Joseph McClendon was convicted as a sexually violent predator in July on a list of charges in connection with the Jan. 18 attack in Greeley.
The woman got away when she wrestled a pair of scissors away from McClendon and cut him, prosecutors said. He escaped and police followed a blood trail to another apartment, where they found McClendon hiding under a pile of clothes.
McClendon claimed the sex had been consensual and he was cut in an argument afterward. He said they met on a telephone dating line.
He was to be sentenced in September, but the date was moved back as his attorneys sought a new trial. Two of his family members were taken into custody in the courtroom during the trial in Weld County.
McClendon’s sister was initially thought to be a woman wanted in Arizona for murder. As she was being taken from the courtroom, her husband swore at deputies, as jurors were being removed from the courtroom.
McClendon’s attorneys also said he should be retried because his jury had no black members. McClendon is black.
A hearing in October failed to persuade the judge, however.
