Freeport man sentenced to 15 years for sex assault

PORTLAND – A Freeport man convicted of rape was sentenced to 15 years in prison Tuesday even though his victim asked the judge for leniency.

Thomas “Chris” Rega, 39, was convicted in November of gross sexual assault, kidnapping and other charges after the victim said Rega held her hostage at knifepoint for two hours and forced her to have sex with him.

But yesterday, the woman told Superior Court Justice Roland Cole that it had been consensual and that Rega needed treatment for mental illness, not prison.

Cole responded that the woman’s actions on July 28, 2002 – the day the kidnapping and rape occurred – spoke louder than her pleas Tuesday.

“She dove out a window partially dressed … ran into a shop and was hiding under a tarp, cowering,” Cole said. “That’s the reality of what took place that day.”

The woman, who has been involved with Rega for 13 years, recanted her original allegations when she testified at Rega’s trial. But she had also made a tape recording of part of the ordeal, which was played for jurors.

The tape captured the voice of a terrified woman who is being threatened by a man with a knife. At one point Rega’s shouting voice is heard to say, “I’m going to make you do it, and you’re going to like it.”

Along with statements she made to Freeport police after her escape, the tape gave the jury enough evidence to convict Rega.

Cole sentenced Rega to the state Department of Corrections for 20 years, with all but 15 years suspended for the crime of gross sexual assault. He received concurrent sentences of 10 years for kidnapping, 10 years for criminal threatening with a dangerous weapon, and five years each for assault and terrorizing.