Investigators called it one of the worst cases of domestic violence they'd seen where the victim didn't die. On Thursday, Julio Lopezleon, convicted of beating his wife, was sentenced to more than 40 years in prison.
Police accused Lopezleon of sexually assaulting and beating his wife over a period of four days in March 2013. His wife testified that he was jealous because an ex-boyfriend had contacted her. At a trial in 2016, Lopezleon was convicted of two counts of first-degree sexual assault, one count of second-degree assault, four counts of fourth-degree assault and two counts of tampering with a witness.
Lopezleon has been in jail for over five years and freely admits that he brutally beat his wife. He told Superior Court Judge Kevin Saxby on Thursday how sorry he felt for what he'd done.
"I wish I could turn back time and make better decisions with my actions. I'm deeply sorry for the harm that I did to my wife and the mother of my children," he said, tearfully.
However, Lopezleon has never admitted to is raping his wife. He attests the sex was consensual. Prosecuting attorney Jason Gist offered a different explanation.
"He beat her and demanded she have sex with him and she eventually let him do it because she was tired of being beaten," Gist said.
Judge Saxby said Lopezleon had the wrong idea about what constitutes consent.
"One of the themes this court intends to emphasize in this sentencing is that you cannot beat a woman into consent," the judge said.
Saxby said he believed Lopezleon stood a chance for rehabilitation, but that he needed a long sentence to consider his crimes, handing down a 40-plus-year sentence.
Lopezleon was sentenced to a total active time to serve of 39.5 years with an additional 270 days. He will get credit for time already served.
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