DEKALB COUNTY, GA — A man linked to multiple sexual assaults across metro Atlanta will spend the rest of his life in prison after pleading guilty in DeKalb County.

Authorities say 64-year-old Wesley Cooley pleaded guilty to four sexual assaults in DeKalb County, including three rapes. He was sentenced to life without parole plus 50 years.

Prosecutors say Cooley followed a similar pattern in the attacks, approaching young women who were alone and offering them a ride before driving them to another location and assaulting them.

“We’re defendant Cooley approached young women who were alone, offered them a ride or other assistance, and then drove them to a secondary location and assaulted them,” DeKalb County District Attorney Sherry Boston said.

Officials say DNA evidence links Cooley to nine rapes across metro Atlanta dating back to 1999 in DeKalb, Fulton, and Rockdale counties.

Boston said the case shows that offenders can still be held accountable even after many years.

“No matter how much time has passed, it’s important that we hold dangerous offenders accountable and send the message that those who prey upon the people of DeKalb County and metro Atlanta will be brought to justice,” Boston said.

Prosecutors say the youngest survivor was 16 at the time of the attack.

Another survivor said Cooley took her innocence but that she is proud of the person she has become.

Boston said Cooley “terrorized women in our community for years,” and that his victims have now received justice.

WSB Radio’s Veronica Waters contributed to this story.