A Moore County man was convicted on July 26, 2017 for sexually assaulting a soldier in 2013.
A Moore County jury found Ontrel Latre Gilchrist, 24, guilty of two counts of First Degree Sexual Offense, First Degree Kidnapping, First Degree Burglary, and Felony Larceny, according to a news release from the Moore County District Attorney’s Office.
The investigation was led by the Aberdeen Police Department after Gilchrist broke into the home of a member of the United States Armed Forces and sexually assaulted her. Â The victim reported she woke up at 2:00 am and found a stranger standing over her and demanded $3,000. Â The victim stated to police that Gilchrist raped her twice at knife point after she told him she didn’t have that kind of money. Gilchrist then stole the victim’s phone before leaving.
According to the news release, since the victim was unable to call for help, she contacted a friend with the Aberdeen Police Department through Facebook messenger. The victim was taken to Moore Regional hospital where a sexual assault kit was completed for DNA evidence. The evidence was sent to the Air Force Office of Special Investigations before being submitted to the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Laboratory in Georgia, according to the news release.  Gilchrist was arrested in 2014 after authorities found the DNA was a match.
During the sentencing last week, Gilchrist had an outburst requiring him to be restrained and carried out of the courtroom. Due to the heinous nature of crimes committed and the fact they were committed upon a decorated member of the US Armed Forces, the State asked that Gilchrist receive consecutive sentences on the two First Degree Sexual Assault convictions. Gilchrist was sentenced to 29 to 41 years to prison, and will have to register as a sex offender when he is released.
