A James City County man entered into a plea deal that saw one count of rape reduced to an aggravated sexual assault charge in Williamsburg-James City County Circuit Court on Monday.
Anthony Mayfield Utley entered an Alford plea of guilt to the reduced charge, which means the defendant maintains his innocence but acknowledges the prosecution has enough evidence to prove him guilty.
James city County Police arrested Utley in December, a few days after the prosecution says the sexual assault occurred at a home in Carter’s Village in Grove. The victim told police she and Utley argued, after which he forced her to the floor and raped her.
Utley was originally charged with one count of forcible sodomy, one count of abduction and one count of forcible object sexual penetration in addition to one count of rape. He pleaded not guilty to all charges in July.
A plea deal between Utley and the prosecution saw all but the rape charge, which was subsequently reduced to felony aggravated sexual assault, dropped in exchange for his cooperation in entering the Alford plea.
Judge Michael McGinty sentenced Utley to 10 years in prison with eight years suspended, leaving him two years to serve.
Upon his release, Utley will remain on supervised probation for up to 10 years. He will also be responsible for paying back court fees in the amount of $2530.
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