Macon rapist sentenced to life with possible parole in 30 years

A Macon, GA man who raped his ex girlfriend June 5 of last year was sentenced to life with 30 years in prison. Daryl Sacar Finnelle, 28, was convicted by a Bibb County jury of rape and kidnapping with bodily injury yesterday afternoon. Bibb County Law Enforcement Center is currently holding him under $12,500 bond. He was arrested July 18 at a Pilot truck stop in Byron, GA.

The 24-year-old woman, who was held by Finnelle for hours and raped repeatedly on June 5, 2007, spoke in court prior to the sentencing."I'll be scared when he gets out," she told the judge.

The woman told the court how much her life has changed in the months that Finnelle has been in jail awaiting trial.

"I never knew what life was like until he disappeared," she said.
Her family embraced her as she returned to her seat.

When given the opportunity to speak, Finnelle denied harming or raping the woman.
"I still do love her," he said. "I have no hard feelings against her."

This morning Finnelle's attorney, Alan Wheeler, reminded the jury during his closing argument that evidence points to Finnelle being out of town at the time when the woman alleges she was raped."He wasn't there on June 5," Wheeler said. "If he's not there, he can't do it. He couldn't have committed the crime."
In her argument, Malcor questioned the validity of the records Wheeler argued show Finnelle, a long-haul truck driver, was on the road at the time of the alleged rape.
"The only person who wrote anything on these tickets was the defendant," she said. "There's nothing to show when they were filled out."
Wheeler told the jury that Finnelle doesn't dispute that his DNA was found, but he does dispute when it got there.

In his testimony Wednesday, Finnelle said he and the woman had sex June 3. The woman testified Tuesday that she hadn't seen Finnelle for a couple of months prior to the incident.
Wheeler also questioned the victim's credibility and why she would raise allegations of rape against Finnelle in 2002 and 2004 only to later drop the charges. He argued that Finnelle and the woman still were dating days before the alleged rape.

Malcor reminded the jury about police officer's testimony about DV victims. Many times, violence against "partners" occur after thr breakup of a relationship, whether rape or in some cases, murder. The victim testified that Finnelle would unexpectedly show up and beat her after the breakup.