By KRISTEN SONNE
kristen@du2.byu.edu
The Provo man accused of raping a BYU student and sexually assaulting another pleaded guilty and was sentenced to at least 10 years in the Utah State Prison.
Luis Alonso Rivera, 39, appeared in court with his defense Wednesday morning before a packed courtroom and agreed to a plea bargain.
Rivera pleaded guilty to three first degree felony charges in 4th District Court. He pleaded guilty to two counts of aggravated kidnapping and to one count of aggravated sexual assault in two separate cases.
One case was the rape of a BYU student Nov. 30, 1997, and the other was an attack of another student Jan. 13.
Judge Anthony Schofield, of the 4th District Court, sentenced Rivera with five years to life in prison with a minimum mandatory sentence of 10 years.
Before Rivera was sentenced, Schofield informed him of what exactly it meant to plead guilty and the rights he would waive if he agreed to the plea bargin.
Schofield also asked Rivera if he understood the significance of what the agreement meant and that he had voluntarily agreed. Rivera said he did.
'I want to say that my decision to plea guilty is because I have prayed a lot with respect to the crime committed,' Rivera said through an interpreter.
Rivera said he would like to publicly ask forgiveness.
'I made a mistake,' Rivera said through an interpreter. 'I allowed Satan to beat me. All my life I've been a normal person. I made a mistake because of a human weakness.'
He said he has been a member of the LDS Church for 18 years.
'I know that I must follow the path of the Lord to enter repentance,' Rivera said through an interpreter. 'I know that the first part is recognizing, and I recognize.'
He also told the court that he is praying for the primary and secondary victims to overcome any damage he might have caused. 'I am praying a great deal for peace,' he said through an interpreter. He said he wants to be responsible for his actions and pay the price.
The actions leading up to both attacks were discussed in the court room. The prosecution recalled part of Jan. 13. The prosecution said that before he took his daughter to the bus stop, he got a knife from his kitchen with the intent to 'get some victim to submit to sexual intolerance.'
Instead of setting a court date for the sentencing, the defense and prosecution decided to waive the normal 2 to 45 day wait period for the sentencing. Schofield pronounced the sentence following the plea bargain.
'I don't think we've seen this kind of case move this quickly,' said Kay Bryson, the prosecuting attorney. 'It was because we had two victims who were strong and would have made good witnesses.'
Marguerite Driessen, associate professor of criminal law at the BYU law school, said she had two responses to the 2 to 45 day wait period being waived.
'The cynical response is that those 2 to 45 days that permit the court to prepare some sort of pre-sentencing report may allow them to reflect badly on the defendant,' she said.
She said sometime during that time period additional information can be brought forward. An opposite response, would be that a defendant may actually want the process to be over.
'There is often some sort of benefit pleading guilty,' Driessen said. She said there sometimes is a lesser sentence in front of a judge rather than in front of a jury.
Bryson also said he was very pleased with the bargain, 'I met extensively with both victims, and they were anxious to have the matter concluded.'
In the plea bargain, it was decided that no additional counts would be added.
'By statue, if one attempts a rape by use of a weapon, he had committed sexual assault,' Bryson said. 'While Holly (the victim who was attacked) was not raped or sexually assaulted, in law there was a count that could have been charged.'
'I want to forgive him, I really do, but it's hard,' said the victim of Rivera's second attack, Holly Roberts, a 22-year-old BYU senior majoring in elementary education, said following the trial.
'When I walked in (the courtroom), I had the creeps because he (Rivera) was staring at me, and he knew I was the other young lady,' Roberts said. 'But, it was comforting to know that he was in shackles and would not come after me again and that he will never be able to come after me again.'
Bryson said the rape victim did not want to be interviewed by the press, however, he said she was in the courtroom.
Following the sentencing, Rivera once again said he wanted to ask forgiveness. Schofield said Rivera will receive therapy while in prison.
'I know many people have been harmed ... I know a home was destroyed,' he said through an interpreter. 'My intent is to rectify my behaviors and actions. I want to take advantage of the courses that are helpful in prison. I want to be a rehabilitated person who can serve society.'
'I feel like it's closure now because he has gotten what he deserves and now I can go on with my life,' Roberts said.
Driessen said it is often difficult for victims of rape to come forth.
'In Utah Valley there is a greater reluctance to discuss rape and to come forth as victims because the Mormon Church has high moral values placed on chastity,' she said.
Rivera moved to Provo in September 1997 from Honduras. Bryson said he believes Rivera is here legally and that he did not have a criminal record in Honduras. Rivera formerly worked at Stouffer's Frozen Food Corporation in Springville, an employee said.