A U.S. Marine has been sentenced to 26 years in federal prison for the sexual assault and kidnapping of an Anchorage woman in August 2013, according to Anchorage police.
James Hale III, 35, was convicted Thursday of first-degree sexual assault, kidnapping and other misdemeanors.
Hale was a staff sergeant stationed in Anchorage at the time of the rape, police said. He was dishonorably discharged and stripped of his rank following a court-martial, they said.
The police department originally investigated the case. On Aug. 26, 2013, Special Victims Unit detectives began investigating the rape of a woman in the Spenard neighborhood the night prior.
"It was reported to police that the adult female was driven by the suspect to a location in Spenard and held at gunpoint while the male sexually assaulted her," police said in a news release Friday.
The woman did not know her attacker, police said.
Detective Brett Sarber eventually identified Hale, who processed incoming recruits, as a suspect. He was not acting as a recruiter when the crimes occurred, police said.
Hale was charged and arrested in February 2014 but the Marine Corps asked to take over the prosecution of the case. The Marines worked with local law enforcement and judicial agencies to convict Hale, police said.
Defense attorney Capt. Aaron Stark said he was not authorized to comment on the court-martial.
Hale will remain at Anchorage Correctional Complex until USMC transfers him to a federal prison.