WATERLOO: A 25-year-old Saudi national studying at the US University of Northern Iowa has been sentenced to up to 25 years in prison on charges he attacked a woman in her home in December, according to a US media report.

It said the attack happened in the early morning hours of Dec. 31 after the man, staying in the US on student visa, crashed his car in a Cedar Falls neighborhood.

According to the US report, a Cedar Falls woman said she thought she was going to be killed after Hamad Abdul Aziz Al-Salman forced his way into her house in December and started choking her and biting her neck.

“I was 100 percent sure I was going to die,” the woman was quoted as saying in WCFcourier.com.

The man was studying in the US on a student visa, sat quietly with his head bowed as he listened to her recount the ordeal in court Monday.

Al-Salman opted to take a plea deal.

He entered an Alford plea — not admitting guilt but contending he would likely be convicted if the case went to trial — to first-degree burglary and assault with intent to commit sexual abuse.

He was also ordered to pay a $1,000 fine and restitution and undergo sex offender treatment.

The sentence also carries 10 years of supervision, and he will be required to register as a sex offender after prison, but Al-Salman will be returned to his home country following incarceration, said the report.

“We do understand the defendant is to be deported because of his status,” said Assistant County Attorney Linda Fangman.

The woman told the court she answered her door thinking it was someone in need, but Al-Salman, a stranger, forced his way into her house and grabbed her by the neck.

The woman struck Al-Salman with a Christmas figurine and attempted to flee, and the struggle continued outside as he shoved her face into the ground, according to authorities. She finally made her way to a neighbor’s house, and Al-Salman attempted to follow but was pushed back outside by the neighbor, Fangman said.

Al-Salman’s attorney, Luke Guthrie, extended apologies to the victim on his client’s behalf, said the report.