Flowery Branch man pleads guilty and sentenced to 30 years in prison for rape, murder of Gwinnett girl

A Flowery Branch man was sentenced to 30 years in prison after pleading guilty to a laundry list of charges related to the 2022 rape and assault of a teenage girl in Gwinnett County.

Court documents show Zachary Iona, 22, pleaded guilty Thursday in Gwinnett County Superior Court to charges of rape and aggravated assault. He was arrested in early February 2022 after the incident and has remained in the Gwinnett County Jail since then.

Authorities accused Iona of raping the girl before stabbing her 86 times. The girl, who was 15 at the time, survived the attack.

Iona was sentenced to life in prison by Judge Tracie H. Cason, with the first 30 years spent in prison.