Georgia 'sovereign citizen' gets 4 life terms for raping 9-year-old girl

A self-described "sovereign citizen" was sentenced to four consecutive life terms in prison for raping a child.

Chadrus Brown was convicted of rape, aggravated sodomy, and child molestation in the sexual assault of a 9-year-old girl in December 2012.

The 40-year-old Brown, of Atlanta, fondled and then raped the girl after forcing her to sleep alone in a bed with him, prosecutors said.

The girl told her family the next day, and Brown was arrested after DNA evidence linked him to the assault, investigators said.

Brown, who acted as his own attorney, claimed the victim was lying.

He also argued in pretrial motions that he was immune to prosecution because he is a sovereign citizen, and thus not bound by any form of government or constitution.

But a judge denied his motion and started the trial, which ended with a pair of convictions after jurors deliberated for less than 30 minutes.

Brown was serving his third stint in state prison during the trial, with previous convictions for theft, forgery, and terroristic threats and acts.

The judge tacked on an additional 60-year prison term to Brown's life sentences with no chance for parole.