SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — A Springfield man originally accused of attempted rape and kidnapping in a restroom at Missouri State University has been sentenced to 18 years in prison.

Court records show Gregory Eugene Morton Jr. was sentenced on Feb. 10 to eight years for attempted kidnapping and 10 years for burglary.

Charges of attempted rape and armed criminal action were dismissed.

Morton, who was found guilty of the two remaining counts in a Dec. 16 bench trial, was accused of grabbing an MSU employee while she was in the restroom. She was able to escape and call for help.

According to a probable cause statement in the case, MSU campus safety officers caught Morton and held him until police arrived to arrest him. Police said he was a suspect in several other crimes.

Morton was remanded back to the custody of the Greene County Jail for transfer to the Missouri Department of Corrections.