Rape, cutting draws 85-year sentence

PALMER — A Wasilla man was sentenced Friday to 85 years in prison with 15 years suspended for raping and cutting his girlfriend.

Aric Tolen, 22, told troopers in videos played at trial that he did not rape the woman, the sex was consensual and that she was responsible for the cuts on her legs. He was convicted last year of first-degree sexual assault, and two counts each of second- and third-degree assault.

The woman told troopers Tolen held her captive in their bedroom, cutting her and accusing her of cheating on him. She ran shoeless from their Bonaparte Avenue trailer to a neighbor’s, where she called police. Tolen is jailed at the Mat-Su Pre-Trial Facility, according to an Alaska State Troopers press statement.

— Andrew Wellner