A 25-year-old New Hampshire man pleaded guilty Tuesday in New London Superior Court to forcing a woman into his hotel room at Foxwoods Resort Casino and sexually assaulting her on Oct. 14, 2017.

Nicholas M. Soucy of Newton, N.H., will be sentenced Oct. 17 to 20 years in prison, suspended after eight years served, followed by 15 years of strict probation. He will be required to register for life as a sexual offender.

Soucy pleaded guilty to reduced charges of second-degree sexual assault and two counts of first-degree unlawful restraint under an agreement negotiated by prosecutor Theresa Anne Ferryman and defense attorney David P. Gaccione. He pleaded guilty under the Alford Doctrine, which indicates he doesn't agree with the state's allegations but does not want to risk a harsher sentence if convicted at trial. Judge Hillary B. Strackbein told Soucy during his plea hearing that he could have received up to 25 years in prison. Though he will be sentenced to eight years of incarceration, he will have the balance of his 20-year sentence "hanging over his head" if he violates the terms of his probation.

He has been held in lieu of $500,000 since Nov. 7, 2017, when he turned himself in to Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Police, who had obtained a warrant for his arrest.

Police obtained surveillance video of parts of the incident, and laboratory tests corroborated the woman's statement about the sexual assault, Ferryman said.

According to the arrest warrant affidavit, the victim told police she went to the casino with a group of female friends to celebrate her 21st birthday and stay overnight at the Fox Tower Hotel. She said the women went to the Shrine nightclub about 11:30 p.m. and got separated. She said she met Soucy, who she thought she recognized but realized she didn't, and they had a brief conversation before she walked away. She said she was drinking tequila at the club but didn't take any drugs.

The woman said she decided to leave at 2 a.m. and noticed Soucy followed her into the elevator, the affidavit says. She said she mistakenly got off on the 18th floor, which was Soucy's floor, thinking she had reached the 29th floor, where she was staying. She said once she realized she was on the wrong floor, she told Soucy she wanted to go to her room. Soucy told her he would walk her to her room, and she told him she wanted to find her friends, according to the affidavit.

The woman said when they reached Soucy's room, he unlocked the door and pushed her into the room, slamming her head against the door. She said she fell to the ground and he got on top of her and raped her as she screamed, hit and scratched him.

A customer from an adjacent hotel room called security after she heard loud banging noises and a woman crying, wailing and saying "Stop" and "Get off me."

A security officer knocked on the door, according to the affidavit. The woman came out of the room visibly upset, partially undressed and with bruises, scratches and red marks on her body. The security officer detained Soucy as he headed toward the elevator, according to the affidavit.

Soucy had no previous criminal record.

k.florin@theday.com