Md. man receives life in prison for rape of elderly neighbor

A Maryland man learned that he will be spending the rest of his life in prison for raping his elderly and mentally ill neighbor back in November 2015.

The victim in this crime did not give a victim impact statement on Wednesday. Instead, her brother spoke about his sister's mental illness and how the violent attack and sexual assault affected her.

"In the future, when and if the defendant is ever released, we will be in fear for her life wherever she may be," the victim's brother said to a judge in court during the sentencing hearing. "Given these facts, our family would like to see the defendant incarcerated for as long time as possible."

Myles Bowersox was convicted for four counts of sexual assault after raping the 63-year-old victim in Rockville. On Wednesday, Judge Sharon Burrell sentenced the 25-year-old man to life in prison plus 20 years.

"I think that Judge Burrell, who gave a very appropriate sentence in this case, I think that she was struck by the premeditation and the planning that went into this," said Montgomery County State's Attorney John McCarthy.

Court documents and transcripts of authorities questioning Bowersox revealed he lived in the same apartment complex as the victim and believed she had dementia. That is why prosecutors say he plotted the rape and broke in through an unlocked window.

The pieces of evidence that sealed the deal for the prosecutors were his fingerprints found at the crime scene.

In addition, Bowersox had a history of sexual violence.

"He was dismissed from the military after some time of service in the military for a series of four different incidences, each of which apparently involved some form of domestic violence," said McCarthy.

Court documents also showed Bowersox threatened the victim at knifepoint and said he would kill her if she reported the rape.

McCarthy said Bowersox underestimated the victim and thought he would get away with the crime.