COBB COUNTY, GA — A rapist convicted in Cobb County is going to prison for the rest of his life nearly three decades after committing the crime.

DNA evidence was used to convict Jerry Lee Pruitt on September 2 of kidnapping with bodily injury, rape, aggravated sodomy, aggravated assault, burglary and false imprisonment.

The jury returned the verdict in less than an hour.

He was sentenced to two life sentences plus 20 years. Pruitt is already serving time for another sexual assault in Alabama.

The then 27-year-old victim was attacked on October 23, 1997 while leaving her apartment in Kennesaw. She says “waiting 28 years to see justice has been surreal.”

“This trial marked the first case ever tried in Cobb County through SAKI (Sexual Assault Kit initiative). Rape is among the most devastating crimes – it robs victims of safety, dignity and peace of mind. This defendant is a predator of the worst kind, and I am so proud of Assistant District Attorney Julian Jordan and the SAKI team for bringing this case to trial,“ said Cobb District Attorney Sonya F. Allen.