A Suffolk Superior Court judge today sentenced Erroll Foreman, 51, to life in prison following his conviction on three counts of aggravated rape of a child and single counts of assault and battery and witness intimidation, the Suffolk County District Attorney's office reports.

A jury convicted Foreman of the charges on April 12. Judge Linda Giles held a shorter second trial at which prosecutors proved Foreman was the same guy convicted of a similar offense in 1986 - which let them ask for a longer sentence for him as a repeat offender. In 1986, he got a sentence of 3 to 7 years for raping one child and forcing another into prostitution.

According to the DA's office:

"At trial, Assistant District Attorney Maryrose Anthes of the DA's Child Protection Unit introduced evidence and testimony to prove that Foreman knew the victim as a friend of her family. He sexually assaulted her while driving her to a summer program in Dorchester on July 31, 2014. When she began to cry, Foreman slapped her and threatened to kill her and her family if she disclosed the assaults, Anthes proved.

"Despite Foreman's attempts to silence her, the victim reported the assaults to program staff and was transported to Boston Medical Center. She participated in a forensic interview, disclosing further information. Based on the state of the evidence at that time, Boston Police detectives obtained a warrant for his arrest and the Fugitive Unit apprehended him on Aug. 2."

In a victim statement, the girl told the court: "This has been a very emotional journey for me as a child, growing up into a young lady. I realized what happened to me does not define me. I will also no longer be labeled as a victim of Errol Foreman, but a survivor of his crime that he committed against me."

Foreman was charged with four other rapes between 1997 and 2006, but prosecutors dropped the cases when the alleged victims decided not to testify.