A 50-year-old Lincoln County man was sentenced Thursday to 48 years in prison for the repeated sexual assault of his girlfriend over a period of several years.
Edward Dockery in April was convicted of five counts of sexual assault and last week was found to be a habitual criminal at his sentencing.
Prosecutors say Dockery in 2006 began a relationship with the victim, at which point she and her children moved into his home.
“The victim reported the defendant began to physically and verbally abuse her starting in 2006,” the 18th Judicial District attorney’s office said in a Tuesday news release. “The victim stated that in April 2007, (Dockery’s) father passed away and (he) became increasingly violent after he was excluded from receiving any of his father’s possessions.”
In the aftermath of his father’s death, Dockery began to beat his girlfriend and “raped her several times a month,” the release said.
“The victim stated that some of the abuse was so severe that she would stay home for several days until the bruising went down,” according to the release. “The defendant prevented her from receiving medical treatment for the injuries she sustained. When the victim resisted, the defendant often threatened the well-being or life of her children.”
Prosecutors say the woman left Dockery in January 2008.
Officials say that when she returned later that month to collect her children’s belongings, Dockery again attacked and sexually assaulted her.
On Aug. 28, 2009, the woman approached district attorney’s office, the release said, and within two months, Dockerywas arrested”
Dockery was originally convicted in 2012 and sentenced to 320 years in prison, However, in July 2014 that conviction was overturned by the Colorado Court of Appeals.
