A former jail guard in Georgia has been sentenced to serve life in prison without parole after a jury found him guilty for a March rape and assault of a 27-year-old Chatsworth woman.

Kirk Taylor Martin, 29, was sentenced Friday morning by Superior Court Judge Cindy Morris.

Martin was convicted on Oct. 11, 2019 by a Murray County jury for rape, three counts of aggravated sexual battery, aggravated sodomy, two counts of aggravated assault by strangulation and aggravated assault with the intent to rape.

Martin formerly worked for the Murray County jail.

The woman Martin raped was held March 7 and into the early morning hours of March 8 before she was able to contact someone outside the home, said Greg Ramey of the Georgia Bureau of Investigations.

A booking photo showed Martin with dozens of scratches on his chest, neck, shoulders and face. Ramey said those injuries came from the woman's efforts to resist the attack.

Murray County Sheriff's Chief Deputy Jimmy Davenport said Martin was fired in April 2018 for jail policy violations. In one instance, Martin gave an inmate the wrong medication. The other violations involved jail procedures and did not affect any inmates, Davenport said.

During the trial, Murray County Assistant District Attorney Ben Kenemer Kenemer called a total of 12 witnesses and tendered over two hundred exhibits.

Bert Poston, District Attorney for the Conasauga Judicial Circuit, said in a press release that Kenemer was assisted by the lead investigator in the case, Special Agent Adam Jones of the GBI.

Through Jones' investigation, Martin confessed to the crimes which was recorded and played to the jury during trial.

Contact Patrick Filbin at pfilbin@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6476. Follow him on Twitter @PatrickFilbin.