Winston-Salem man sentenced for raping woman at gunpoint

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — A Winston-Salem man will spend up to 26 years in prison on charges that he raped a woman at gunpoint in a wooded area near an elementary school.

Nelson Thomas Hartman, 24, of 1419 Marne St., pleaded guilty in Forsyth Superior Court on Thursday to first-degree rape, first-degree sex offense and possession of a firearm by a felon.

Hartman was convicted of taking the alleged victim to a wooded area near Forest Park Elementary School under the pretense of firing a two-shot Derringer gun.

But when they got to the wooded area, Hartman forced the woman to take her clothes off and then raped her while he had a gun to her head, said Assistant District Attorney Belinda Foster.

Read full story: The Winston-Salem Journal.