<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">A 46-year-old man was found guilty Monday in state district court of a 1999 aggravated rape.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">Judge Ron Ware delivered the verdict after a one-day bench trial.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">Austin Mott, Jr. beat and raped a woman inside an outdoor restroom near the Lake Charles Civic Center on October 5, 1999. The victim had been jogging in the area and stopped to use the facility when Mott came in, hit her multiple times and broke her nose.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">He raped her in a bathroom stall.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">The victim, said prosecutor Cynthia Killingsworth in her closing argument, was “choking on her blood” and “couldn’t breathe” during the incident. She said that the victim has endured two surgeries in order to breathe through her nose.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">Lake Charles police stated in July 2015 that the initial investigation was unable to make headway due to few leads and to limited lab testing available. But after Lt. Kevin Kirkum reopened the case in December 2014 and resubmitted evidence for testing, a DNA match to Mott was made. Mott was incarcerated at the time in Rosharon, Texas for a sexual offense.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">Ware set Mott’s sentencing for Friday, 10 a.m. The penalty for aggravated rape is life in prison.</span>