A man convicted of kidnapping and raping two University of
Wisconsin students in the fall of 2006 was sentenced Wednesday to a 40-year
jail sentence.

According to Assistant District Attorney Karie Cattanach,
the prosecutor for the case, Antonio Pope, 32, of Fitchburg was also sentenced
by Judge John Markson to 20 years of extended supervision after the completion
of his prison term.

Pope entered a no contest plea last November to allegations
he kidnapped and raped two women on two different occasions.

The incidents occurred Nov. 29 and Dec. 9 when Pope
kidnapped the girls from the campus area, took them to his Fitchburg apartment,
raped them and then released them in the downtown Madison area.

Cattanach said Pope wore a condom in both cases and
“attempted to wipe the victims down” in an effort to remove any of
his DNA from their bodies. However, police were able to find samples of his DNA
from the button of one of the victim’s pants and from the back of the other
victim.

“Both victims were blindfolded and had no look
whatsoever,” Cattanach said. “One got a partial look [from] his mouth
down, but without DNA there would have been no identification.”

The police were able to run the DNA to a statewide list of
felons in order to match it to Pope, who has been convicted in the past of
felony cocaine possession and bail jumping.

According to Cattanach, Pope has not taken responsibility
for his role in the crimes.

“It is throughout his statements he basically says, ‘I
can’t believe this happened to me and the victim,’ and putting blame on society
for what he did,” Cattanach added.

She added Pope also tried to claim he was incompetent to
stand trial early on in the legal process, and that he was tested for his
competence and the results showed he had a “high probability of feigning
and malingering.”

According to Cattanach, the test results showed he was
trying to affect mental problems to avoid prison. She added if the results of
his tests were true, “he would not be able to shower by himself and
function in society.”

The fact that he had held down jobs and could drive proved
his test results were exaggerated, Cattanach said.

Carmen Hotvedt, a violence prevention specialist for
University Health Services, said in statement the news of the Pope incidents
have caused UW to enhance and develop a number of campus safety initiatives.

“The news stories revealed something many of us knew:
UW-Madison, while not a dangerous campus, was not free from crime risks,”
Hotvedt said.

The incidents have contributed to the creation of a Facebook
group, emerging text messaging service and better e-mail communication to
better get crime information out to students, the statement said.