WOODSTOCK, Ga. — A man convicted of rape and violation of a temporary protective order has found out how long he must stay behind bars.
Roman Viderman, 48, of Woodstock, was sentenced July 10 to 25 years in prison without the possibility of parole.
Senior Judge Walter J. Matthews imposed the sentence in Canton after a jury found Viderman guilty of rape and violation of a temporary protective order.
A Cherokee County jury previously convicted Viderman of the charges. The case began in 2025 when a woman reported to the Cherokee Sheriff’s Office that she had been sexually assaulted on more than one occasion by Viderman, with whom she was in a relationship.
The victim explained that these incidents occurred while she was asleep and unable to protect herself and that she told Viderman to stop but he refused to comply. She also reported that, even after obtaining a temporary protective order, Viderman continued conducting unauthorized surveillance of her home.
Assistant District Attorney Ashley Snow, of the Domestic Violence Unit, prosecuted the case, with the assistance of Assistant District Attorney Leland McElveen. During the sentencing hearing, Snow said Viderman engaged in a prolonged pattern of abuse that kept the victim in a state of fear and stripped her of dignity.
“The defendant repeatedly violated his partner, exploiting the trust inherent in their relationship and taking advantage of her vulnerability by committing offenses while she was asleep and unable to defend herself,” Snow said. “These assaults were a pattern of coercion and control that kept the victim living in fear, and when she sought the protection of the court, he violated that order as well.”
Snow also read the victim’s impact statement during the hearing, which described years of “fear, coercion, control and uncertainty.”
The statement read, “One of the deepest wounds I carry is that I truly believed if I could only explain my pain clearly enough, the person I loved would understand and stop hurting me.” It continued, “When I finally accepted that nothing I said or did would change him, I left. That was when the fear truly began.”
The Cherokee Sheriff’s Office investigated the case.
After serving his prison sentence, Viderman is ordered to serve life on probation under sex offender special conditions. Senior Judge Matthews also ordered that Viderman have no contact of any kind with the victim.
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