Man sentenced to life for kidnapping, sexually assaulting UWG student

ATLANTA - The man behind a brutal attack that started in a Carrollton Kroger parking lot has been sentenced to life in prison.

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Timothy Wilson, 28, pleaded guilty kidnapping, aggravated assault, and hijacking a motor vehicle.

The attack took place back in September 2017. Police said it started in Carroll County when a man approached a University of West Georgia student with a knife as she was coming out of a grocery store. The man forced the woman into her own vehicle, police said, and they drove toward Atlanta on Interstate 20.

According to police, the man got off at the Hamilton E. Holmes exit and that's when he sexually assaulted the victim in the parking lot of a church. Then, they got back on the interstate and drove toward Monroe Drive.

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At some point, the student was able to use her iPhone to contact her boyfriend, despite having been kidnapped and sexually assaulted. Carrollton Police Captain Shannon Cantrell said the victim's boyfriend called 911 and officers were able to begin tracking them. 

Responding officers were able to locate the vehicle, which then led to a police chase. Police said the suspect eventually wrecked the car near an apartment complex on Monroe Drive in Midtown, then he took off on foot. 

The victim was taken to Grady Memorial Hospital.

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