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Greeley man to spend at least 30 years in prison for sex assault

Matthew Shepherd was convicted by a jury in January. A judge sentenced him to 30 years to life in prison.

GREELEY, Colo. — A Greeley man could spend the rest of his life in prison for sexually assaulting a woman in February 2019.

The Weld County District Attorney's Office (DA) said Matthew Shepherd was sentenced by a judge to 30 years to life in prison.

The victim told police she and Shepherd had met only once before after they connected through mutual friends on Facebook.

The victim called police in the early morning hours of Feb. 17 to report the sex assault, according to the DA.

The victim told investigators Shepherd became angry when she refused to have sexual intercourse with him.

The victim said Shepherd began removing her clothing and then pinned her to his bed by placing his knees on her forearms, according to the DA.

The victim said Shepherd tried forcing her to perform oral sex on him, but she refused, the DA's office said.

After trying to escape, Shepherd pushed the victim into his closet, the DA said. 

The victim bit Shepherd's penis to stop the forced oral sex, which caused him to elbow her in the forehead, according to the DA.

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Shepherd tore the victim's smartwatch off to prevent her from calling 911, the DA said.

The victim was only able to get away after obeying Shepherd's commands to perform oral sex on him, according to the DA.

The victim got away with only a few articles of her clothing, the DA said.

When Greeley Police found the victim, she had bruises on her forearms and a bruise on her forehead, according to the DA's office.

A jury convicted Shepherd in January of sexual assault by force and unlawful sexual contact.

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