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By SAMUEL MAULL Associated Press Writer NEW YORK (AP) An ex-convict has been found guilty of raping and torturing a Columbia University graduate student over 19 nightmarish hours.

Robert Williams was pronounced guilty in a Manhattan courtroom of 44 of 46 counts.

The verdict followed a gruesome trial that included dramatic testimony from the victim. She identified her attacker down to his scars and gold tooth and tearfully recalled how the attack was so agonizing that she begged him to kill her.

She also said the 31-year-old Williams made her swallow fistfuls of painkillers, ordered her to gouge out her eyes with scissors, sealed her lips with super glue, and gagged her with duct tape before torching her apartment. She spent weeks in hospitals and required months of physical therapy.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.) APNP 06-24-08 1628CDT | save this article / add to your favorites list