An Augusta man convicted of rape and kidnapping charges was sentenced Thursday to life in prison plus 25 years.

A Richmond County Superior Court convicted Jamal R. Staten, 20, of the charges at the conclusion of a three-day trial late last month.

The victim, an ex-girlfriend, told the jury how a pattern of domestic violence escalated over a two-year period leading up to a brutal sexual assault on Oct. 6, 2008.

The jury heard what Mr. Staten sounded like in one of his rages when a tape recording of threatening phone calls to the victim was played.

At the time of the attack, Mr. Staten was under a court order to stay away from the victim. Battery charges were pending against him in connection with an April 2008 assault.

In addition to beating, choking and raping the young woman, Mr. Staten forced her to send text and voice messages in which she claimed she had lied about the April 2008 attack and wanted to drop the charges.

Mr. Staten was still in high school when he was arrested. He had had plans to join the Air Force and go to college, his mother told the judge as she described a caring young man who served as a mentor for his nieces and nephews.

Judge Carl C. Brown Jr. said he remembers the rage Mr. Staten expressed in the taped phone call and the horrible abuse he inflicted on the victim. Considering everything, the mandatory life sentence for kidnapping with bodily injuries was appropriate, he said.