Kansas strangler raped girl, 7, six weeks after release from prison

A Kansas man has been charged with the rape and attempted murder of a seven-year-old girl just six weeks after being released from prison for another sex offence.

Corbin Breitenbach, 23, appeared in court on Tuesday after allegedly strangling and sodomising the child, unknown to him, in a Wichita condo in the early hours of 11 June, according to The Wichita Eagle.

Prosecutors allege that the 6ft, 180lb former Marine Corps trainee sneaked into the bedroom where the girl was staying, strangled her, took her onto a balcony and had sex with her unconscious body.

The girl was hospitalised by the attack but is now recovering at home.

Breitenbach had been staying with his girlfriend, across a courtyard from where the girl was sleeping, following his release from prison 28 April for choking and raping a 22-year-old woman in 2012.

That woman's fiance told the Wichita Eagle that he found her unconscious on the bed following the attack.

As she came round, she began to start crying and could not walk, she told her partner the last thing she remembered was Breitenbach approaching her and beginning to strangle her.

Breitenbach was sentenced to 68 months in jail in March 2013 for that offence. He was released on parole six weeks ago after incurring 32 separate prison disciplinary reports.

He now faces life behind bars if found guilty of the attempted murder charge.

In a statement, his family said: "Our family is in utter shock and disbelief. It is impossible to communicate the depth of our sorrow and the grief we feel for the victim and her family. We respectfully ask to be allowed time to process this. Our thoughts and prayers are for this young girl and that she and her family will fully recover"