Acting District Attorney Michael J. Flaherty, Jr. announced that Cornell Long, 29, of Buffalo, has been sentenced by State Supreme Court Justice Christopher J. Burns to 12 years in prison and 20 years post-release supervision for a knife-point rape.

In July, Long pleaded guilty to one count of Rape in the First Degree and one count of Burglary in the First Degree.

On July 23, 2015, at around 3:30 a.m., Long broke into the victim’s Buffalo apartment through her living room window. He took a knife off of her kitchen counter and entered her bedroom, where he threatened to “slit the throat” of his victim. Long proceeded to rape the victim over the course of several hours.

Later, he fractured the victim’s nose and caused multiple bodily injuries. The victim fled to the store where she worked, and her manager called 911. The defendant was apprehended a short time later.

Acting DA Flaherty praised the work of the patrol officers in this case: “The rapid response and quick thinking of patrol Officers Mark Tripp and Timothy O’Neill ensured that this defendant was quickly apprehended, and even more importantly, preserved all of the physical evidence that was critical to securing a conviction.”

Assistant District Attorney Ryan D. Haggerty prosecuted the case.