Chattanooga: Rapist given 60-year sentence

A man convicted in September of the violent home invasion and rape of a house sitter on the North Shore received a 60-year sentence this morning.

Tracey A. Roberson, 37, must serve at least 40 years before being considered for parole, since sentences for aggravated kidnapping and rape must be served at 100 percent.

He was convicted on eight convictions including aggravated rape and especially aggravated kidnapping.

Hamilton County Criminal Court Judge Rebecca Stern said the crimes, committed in August 2008 while a young UTC student was house sitting for a prominent Chattanooga couple, were “some of the worst” she has ever seen come through the local court system.

Homeowners Alan and Alison Lebovitz — Mr. Lebovitz is the vice-president of CBL, the company that owns Hamilton Place mall — went to New York in August 2008 and asked their baby sitter to house sit their home in Heritage Landing on the North Shore while they were gone.

The house also was undergoing repairs at the time. One of the contractors, who was Mr. Roberson’s cousin, told him that the owners were out of town but is not believed to have know about Mr. Roberson’s intentions.

The same night, Mr. Roberson broke into the house and bound the house sitter with duct tape as she was sleeping in the guest room while he removed a safe from the wall that contained valuables worth more than $60,000.

Mr. Roberson then raped the house sitter and told her he would come back to kill her if she called the police.

See tomorrow’s Times Free Press for complete details.