ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. — A Ballwin serial rapist was sentenced Tuesday to 291 years in prison, with some years running consecutively and others concurrently.

In April, a jury found Yahya Maly guilty on 17 counts, including rape and sodomy.

He was accused of sex crimes against seven women between March 2023 and February 2025. Seven women in the trial testified.

The jury found Maly not guilty on the remaining four counts against him, which include two kidnapping and two assault charges.

Maly will be eligible for parole after he serves 270 years.

“We respect that the jury has spoken and that the court has pronounced what it believes to be a fair and just sentence. Mr. Maly maintains a firm belief in his innocence,” said Mark Hammer, Maly’s lawyer.

He noted that Maly plans to appeal his conviction.

Two victims were in the courtroom Tuesday for the sentencing. They told reporters afterward how pleased they were with the prison sentence.

One mentioned the struggles she continues to face.

“It’s caused PTSD; me going to counseling; me taking medication; me being depressed and also possibly not finding a husband or not even creating a family of myself,” she said.

She mentioned that she met Maly through an online dating platform.

“I would really like dating sites to start doing background checks on people,” she said. “I think it will save a lot of people’s lives if they start doing background checks.”

The other victim talked about how she and the other victims leaned on each other through the trial.

“Speaking up matters. You can try to move on and believe that life will keep going and the world will keep turning, but it is important that justice happens,” she said, noting that it takes bravery to tell the truth.

St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Melissa Price Smith told reporters that she has never seen a sentence like this over the course of her career.

“He is a danger to the community and it’s because of these women that he is off the streets,” she said. “My fear is there were probably others who didn’t have the courage to come forward. Yahya Maly cannot hurt anybody ever again.”

Price commended the women who came forward during the trial, noting their strength.

“They are all superheroes because they found the strength to come forward,” she said.

“It’s hard for a victim to come forward and these women came forward anyway. They used the power of their voice to say, ‘This isn’t ok. Something has to be done.’ ”

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The story has been updated to include comments from the victims and the prosecuting attorney.