DENVER (CBS4)- A man accused in a brutal stranger attack nearly five years ago has pleaded guilty.

Manuel McGee pleaded guilty to first degree assault and attempted sexual assault.

The 32-year-old victim was walking home alone in the early morning hours of July 8, 2008 when she was attacked by an unknown man in the area near 14th Ave. and Decatur Street.

She was sexually assaulted and nearly choked to death but survived and was able to get home following the attack and she could call police.

The case was unsolved until Denver police detectives were alerted to a DNA match after McGee was arrested in Lakewood in 2011 for aggravated motor vehicle theft.

His DNA was taken at the time of that felony arrest and submitted to CODIS as a result of Colorado’s arrest DNA law (Katie’s Law.)

McGee faces 25 years in prison when he is sentenced in May.