GREAT FALLS, Mont. (AP) — A Great Falls woman who was charged with breaking into her ex-boyfriend’s house and using a machete to force him to have sex with her has been sentenced to 20 years in the state psychiatric hospital.

District Judge Greg Pinski sentenced 20-year-old Samantha Ray Mears Tuesday, saying her inability to stay on her medication makes her a threat to others.

Mears was charged in June 2018 with aggravated burglary, assault with a weapon, unlawful restraint, assault and criminal mischief. Two months earlier she had been charged with strangling the same man.

The Great Falls Tribune reports Mears has been held at the Montana State Hospital in Warm Springs since her second arrest.

Defense attorney Mark Frisbie says his client has learning disabilities that contributed to the crimes.

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Information from: Great Falls Tribune, http://www.greatfallstribune.com

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