BOSTON (AP) – A former Boston man convicted of rape after he fired his attorney in the middle of the trial was sentenced Monday to nine to 15 years in prison.

Suffolk Superior Court Judge Robert A. Mulligan sentenced Reginald Butler, 39, for the 1991 rape, adding the sentence to a prison term that Butler, a “habitual offender” under the law, is already serving in the Plymouth County House of Corrections for another rape.

Though he received a life sentence in Plymouth County, Butler would have been eligible for parole. Now, he can’t be paroled until after he also completes the Suffolk County sentence, according to Suffolk District Attorney Daniel Conley’s office.

The jury deliberated nine hours over two days before returning a guilty verdict on Friday, and acquitting him of a breaking and entering charge. Butler had abruptly fired his court-appointed attorney on Tuesday, yelling that his lawyer was “not doing nothing.”

He continued as his own lawyer, telling jurors in closing arguments that “I’ve never been to law school” and that he was “scared to death.”

The jury returned deadlocked, but the judge sent them back to deliberate further. They returned with the guilty verdict.

Butler entered the victim’s apartment through a locked door and found the woman, 33 at the time of the rape, asleep on her couch, prosecutors said.

The woman awoke to find Butler trying to rape her. She resisted Butler’s assault by trying to punch and kick him, but after he allegedly hit her and became more aggressive, she ceased physical resistance out of fear, prosecutors said.

The victim reported the crime later that morning and was treated at a hospital. She gave a witness impact statement Monday, saying she continues to have nightmares about the rape.

AP-ES-05-12-03 1754EDT

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