SAN DIEGO -- A man who was out of prison for just nine days when he attacked the mother of his child, choking her into unconsciousness with a rope, was convicted Friday of assault.

A jury, however, deadlocked on whether Robert Gallardo raped the woman last June 9, and that count was dismissed.

Besides assault with a deadly weapon causing great bodily injury, Gallardo was found guilty of corporal injury to a former spouse, false imprisonment and escaping from police custody.

He faces multiple life terms in prison when he is sentenced July 8 by Judge Howard Shore.

Deputy District Attorney Teresa Santana told jurors that Gallardo was out of the picture when the victim gave birth to their daughter in February 2008, and the woman had moved in with another man and his family.

On May 31, 2008, the victim met up with Gallardo and the two had consensual sex twice during that week, the prosecutor said.

Last June 8, the woman and Gallardo went to the beach, where they argued about the way she cared for the baby, Santana said. Gallardo called her a "bad mother" and she slapped him, the prosecutor said.

The defendant then slapped her twice, busting her lip open, Santana said.

The woman drove Gallardo back to his residence, where he told her he was keeping the baby overnight, according to the prosecutor. The next day, she was assaulted when she returned to Gallardo's residence to drop off some baby items before work, Santana said.

The prosecutor said the defendant told the victim they needed to talk, and when they got inside, grabbed her by the hair and threw her down.

He hit and kicked the victim, then grabbed a yellow rope and choked her twice into unconsciousness. The defendant then raped the woman with her 4-month- old baby nearby, the prosecutor alleged.

Once she got to work, the woman's supervisor saw the red marks on her neck and called police, Santana said.

The victim, now 26, testified that she "saw stars" when Gallardo slapped her at the beach.

Before she was raped, the woman said she tried to make a run for the door, but Gallardo held it closed with his hand, she testified.

"He told me that was it ... I was done," the woman testified.

She said Gallardo demanded sex and when she said no, he forced himself on her even though she was on her period.

After the forced intercourse, Gallardo told the woman "to clean myself, so I won't say he raped me," the woman testified.

Defense attorney Susan Clemens told the jury that the victim was having sex with Gallardo while living with another man, who told her to break it off with the defendant but she refused.

The victim told the defendant that if he gave up his fight for custody of their child, she would drop the criminal case against him, according to Clemens.

Gallardo was sent to prison in 2002 after his conviction on four counts of robbery.