ATHENS, Ga. (AP) — A man has been sentenced to life in prison for attempted rape and for attacking a witness who came to the victim's aid.

The Athens Banner-Herald) reports Gary Gaylord was found guilty Thursday and authorities say the February 2008 attack happened after he escaped from a correctional facility in Augusta.

Authorities say Gaylord tried raping a 21-year-old college student and attacked a woman who tried helping the victim. Authorities say Gaylord knocked her off her bike, choked her and stole her bicycle.

Officials say Gaylord tried hitching a ride from Augusta with a woman and slammed her head into the steering wheel when she said she wasn't going to Athens. Gaylord attacked a man who tried coming to the woman's aid and drove off in his pickup truck.

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