Port Huron Man Convicted Of Multiple Sex Assaults After Old Rape Kits Processed

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Anthony Thornton (credit: Wayne County Sheriff's Office)

DETROIT (WWJ) -- A Port Huron man has been convicted in the rapes of two different women.

Anthony Thornton, 46, was found guilty on two counts of first-degree criminal sexual assault and one count of unlawful imprisonment by Judge Vonda Evans in Wayne County Circuit Court.

In April 2010, Thornton met the first victim at the Coalition on Temporary Shelter homeless shelter in Detroit. The victim accompanied Thornton and two other men to an abandoned house to drink and smoke.

When victim attempted to leave, Thornton and the other men held her down and took turns raping her. The victim had a rape kit collected, but the kit wasn't processed until March 2015.

A year later, he raped a woman after a friend invited her to his home in Detroit. When she arrived, Thornton was the only one there. He then overpowered the victim and raped her.

The victim was able to escape through a back window and immediately reported the crime. The second victim's rape kit was processed earlier this year, and Thornton was again identified.

First-degree criminal sexual conduct is a felony punishable by life in prison. A sentencing is scheduled for June 16.