Stalker sentenced to life in prison after leaving victim paralyzed

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (WSVN) -- A stalker has been sentenced to life in prison after his vicious attack left a woman paralyzed.

Christine Kent was a model and skier until she was run over repeatedly by Allan Sinclair's sport utility vehicle, and then dragged behind the hedges of her home and left for dead.

She survived and came face-to-face with her attacker in court Friday morning, where she recounted the harrowing experience of Sinclair's attempts to kill her by first shooting her and then running over her with his SUV. "He could have avoided me, but he swung his car to the left. He stopped with that tire on top of me, and he turned that tire on top of me," she said.

The last time Kent walked was Aug. 4, 2007. Sinclair, who she thought was a platonic friend, once expressed a romantic interest in her, but she did not share the same feelings. He unexpectedly showed up at her house one night with a rape kit. She fled and he shot at her, as she ran out the front door. One bullet pierced her spine and instantly paralyzed her. "After Allan Sinclair exited my house, he got in his SUV and proceeded to back out," she said. "All I saw was this huge, tire coming straight at me, and I just screamed out, 'Please, please, don't run me over.'"

Sinclair plead guilty to his actions, though he said he could not explain why he did what he did. The judge handed down his sentence soon after. "I take no pleasure in this sentence, but I have no problem with it. I sentence you to life in prison," Judge Marc Gold said, "with restitution in the amount of $50,000."

Kent broke down in tears upon hearing the sentence. At the trial, Sinclair spoke directly to his victim, admitting to his guilt and saying he did not want to put her through the trial. "You didn't deserve anything that happened to you," Sinclair said, "and I wish I can truly give you an explanation."

It was little consolation to Kent, as he left her not only paralyzed from the waist down but with a broken arm and years of pain. "I think justice was served," Kent said. "I've been sentenced to life in a wheelchair, now Allen Sinclair has been sentenced to life in prison."

A day before the sentencing, Kent recalled how Sinclair left her after running her down and then came back to drag her by her limp legs and hide her behind the hedges of her home to die. "'Why did you do this to me, why?' and he didn't say anything. He picked up the casings from the two bullets off my driveway and put it in his pocket. He left. He left me there to die," she said.

The National Transplant Assistance Fund has set up a fund to help Christine Kent deal with her pain and medical care. If you would like to make a donation, click on the link above.

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