Southbridge man convicted of beating dancer

DUDLEY, Mass. (AP) -- A Southbridge man has been sentenced to four years in jail for beating a private dancer he had hired because she refused to have sex with him.

Jason Watson was found guilty of impersonating a police officer and assaulting the dancer with a dangerous weapon.

Authorities say the 27-year-old Watson hired the woman in June, and became enraged when she would not have sex. He was accused of locking her in his apartment, claiming to be a federal agent, choking her, and hitting hit her with the butt of a BB gun.

The woman escaped and called police, who found her bleeding from a head wound that required treatment at a hospital. The Telegram & Gazette reported that robbery, kidnapping and assault and battery charges were dismissed.