A 23-year-old man who sexually assaulted a friend hours after posting his plan on Facebook has been sentenced to 20 years in prison, authorities said Wednesday.
Virginia Beach Circuit Court judge H. Thomas Padrick sentenced Ronald James Boyd after he pleaded guilty to rape in May.
Padrick sentenced Boyd to 50 years in prison with 30 years suspended, leaving 20 years to be served. The sentence was above the high end of state guidelines, which recommended a maximum sentence of 17 years and 1 month in prison.
Prosecutors said Boyd declared his intention to rape someone in a Facebook post published Oct. 24, 2012. Later that evening, Boyd invited a female friend to his house to drink alcohol and play games. The victim eventually passed out from consuming too much alcohol, at which time police said Boyd sexually assaulted her.
The victim awoke during the assault and later reported the incident to police. When investigators questioned Boyd he confessed to the crime, according to court documents.
A key piece of evidence in the case was the Facebook post, which authorities were able to copy and save before Boyd removed it from the social networking website.
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