KCBD, NewsChannel 11 Lubbock |Former prison guard sentenced in rape case
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Associated Press - November 21, 2009 8:45 AM ET
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) - A former corrections officer has been sentenced to 18 years in prison for raping four female inmates at a private prison in Albuquerque.
Anthony Townes had pleaded guilty to four counts of rape and false imprisonment. The rapes occurred between January and August 2007 at the Camino Nuevo Correctional Center.
Despite the guilty plea, Townes denies he committed the crimes.
Townes told a state district judge during Friday's sentencing that the women were lying and the only reason he pleaded guilty was to avoid a longer prison term.
Townes would have faced up to 36 years in prison had he been convicted by a jury.
Information from: KRQE-TV, http://www.krqe.com
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