This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2013, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

A 24-year-old Salt Lake City man accused of raping several women in 2011 was sentenced Monday to spend at least a decade in prison.

John M. Lowther, who allegedly assaulted several women over the course of eight months, was ordered to serve no less than 10 years in prison of what may be a life sentence for two counts of rape, a first-degree felony.

An independent board will determine how long Lowther will spend behind bars, but 3rd District Judge Randall Skanchy sentenced Lowther on Monday to serve two consecutive sentences of five years to life.

According to charging documents, Lowther was with a woman on Valentine's Day 2010 in her home, where she fell asleep. When she awoke, she told police, Lowther was naked and on top of her. She told him "no" and struggled to push him off, but he raped her, the documents state.

Five months later, Lowther was alone with a different woman in her home. After the woman went to bed, the documents state, she woke up to him assaulting her. She tried to force his hands away and told him to leave.

In September of that same year, documents state, Lowther was alone with two women at home when they fell asleep in the same bed. He entered the room, lay between them, fondled one and raped the other, documents state.

Lowther was originally charged with two counts of rape, both first-degree felonies; object rape, a first-degree felony; and two counts of forcible sexual abuse, both second-degree felonies.

He pleaded no contest to two counts of rape in May in a plea deal with prosecutors, in which the court dismissed all other charges.

The judge also ordered Lowther to pay more than $3,000 in restitution.

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