A man who was believed to be behind several acts of rape and robbery in the vicinity of "Dump Up Beach" in Montego Bay, St. James was on Thursday sentenced to 30 years in prison.

The sentencing was described as a landmark one by many persons present at the Montego Bay Resident Magistrate's Court where the Easter Session of the Circuit Court is underway. Paul Maitland, 35, of King Street in Montego Bay was slapped with rape and indecent assault charges stemming from an attack on a young woman along "Dump Up Beach" on October 4, last year. In handing down sentence Thursday morning, Justice Marjorie Cole Smith said she was not sending a message but rather a letter to Maitland as the message would be too short. She sentenced him to 30 years in jail for the rape charge and three years on the indecent assault charge. He will not be eligible for parole for 25 years. It is alleged that on October 4, Maitland and his crony held the victim at gunpoint and dragged her to nearby school premises where they took turns assaulting and raping her. They left her bruised and battered but the woman managed to get to the police station, where shortly after, a policeman turned up with Maitland who had just been nabbed close to a robbery scene. The victim immediately identified him. DNA evidence was presented in the matter which saw six persons testifying and on April 15, 2010, a seven member jury found him guilty. Crown Counsel Dirk Harrison and Kelly Ann Boyne presented the case against Maitland who had been slapped with a suspended sentence previously on a robbery and malicious destruction of property matter. At the beginning of the case, Justice Smith had extended the olive branch to accused persons telling then not to waste the court's time if they were guilty and she would have mercy, otherwise they would feel the full extent of the law. Earlier this year, another alleged serial rapist was also held by the police.