Man convicted of 1987 rape

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- A prison inmate has been convicted in the 15-year-old rape and attack that left an Independence woman with permanent brain damage.

Ronald Dennis, 60, was found guilty Friday of first-degree assault and first-degree rape. Sentencing is scheduled for Dec. 4.

Dennis already was serving a 20-year prison term for four sodomy convictions from 1984 and 1990. His conditional release date is Dec. 18.

The victim was found Feb. 28, 1987, lying on her living room floor, covered with blood and mud.

Prosecutors said Dennis was angry because he had caught his wife cheating with his best friend, and he wanted to take it out on someone. So he picked a random victim. The woman, who was 27 at the time, lived about a half-mile from Dennis.

Semen collected from her body matched Dennis' DNA profile.

The defense argued that the woman named another man as her assailant -- six years after the 1987 attack. But prosecutors said DNA testing cleared that man.