Man sentenced to 36 years in prison for raping his wife

February 27^th, 2013 (InsideCostaRica.com)  A 39-year-old software engineer has been sentenced to 36 years in prison after having been found guilty by a court of raping his wife on four occasions.

The man, identified by the last name of Orozco, has been married to his wife nearly 14 years.  The couple have two children.

On February 19^th, the Goicoechea Criminal Court in San Jose, found Orzco guilty of raping his wife on four occasions.

The man’s wife, 41, had accused him of physically assaulting her and forcing her to have sex with him.

After hearing the evidence, judges Jorge Tabash, Ileana Mendez and Silvia Badilla Sandi Chang felt that Orzco had indeed raped his wife on at least four occasions.

The man was sentenced to 12 years on each of the four counts, for a total of 48 years.  However, the Court adjusted the sentence down to 36 years.

Judith Salas of the National Women’s Institute (Inamu) believes that the case shows a change in the thinking of Costa Rican society.

“Historically, women perceived that sexual violence in marriage was part of the role they played as wives, that they belonged to their companions,” Salas said.

“But decisions like these reflect two things: one, is that women have started to become aware of their rights, and the other is [they can find help] through support agencies like the judiciary,” she added.

Salas stressed the importance for women to know that they can refuse to have sex with their partners, and can report their partners to authorities if necessary.

In November 2011, in Osa, a 51 year old man was sentenced to 35 years in prison on two counts of raping his wife.