MOSCOW, December 10 (RIA Novosti) - A police officer convicted of attempted rape has been jailed for five-and-a-half years in Russia's second city of St. Petersburg, Russian media reported on Tuesday.

As well as the attempted rape charges, beat officer Andrei Markevich, 35, was found guilty of abuse of office and assault related to robbery.

In November 2006, a drunk and on duty Markevich attacked a woman. After assaulting her he dragged her towards his car, which was parked near his home, and forced her inside, where he attempted to rape her. In the process he hit her more than 60 times while strangling her. He also ripped a gold chain from her neck and stole money from her purse.

His victim managed to escape when he sat in the driver's seat to take her to a deserted spot.

The case comes a month after a St. Petersburg court jailed a former police investigator for eight years for the rape of an 11-year-old boy. The crime came to light after the man, Andrei Trush, gave a video camera he had used to film himself raping the boy to his neighbor with the recording still inside.

Since the end of October, police officers across Russia have also been charged or jailed on charges of abducting a woman, burning alive a suspect, shooting two people while drunk, and raping an underage girl.