Suspect takes plea deal in gang rape case, gets 20 years
One of four men charged with forcing a deaf woman into a car and brutally raping her as they drove around Santa Fe after a night of dancing pleaded guilty Monday and was sentenced to 20 years in prison under his deal with prosecutors.
A man suspected of being ringleader in the 2021 incident is still at large and believed to be living in Guatemala, where all of the suspects are from, according to court records and statements made at Monday’s hearing.
Oscar Rene Juarez Lopez, 45, pleaded guilty to rape and kidnapping. He said through a Spanish language translator at his hearing he was sorry for what he did and wanted the victim to know “nobody is perfect except God.” He said he hopes she will forgive him one day.
Deputy District Attorney Haley Murphy’s voice shook as she reminded the court of the allegations of a kidnapping and prolonged sexual assault — some of which the men filmed.
The men forced the woman into a vehicle as she was walking home after a night out, Murphy said, and subjected her to a “multi-hour nightmare.”
Lopez — whom Murphy said initially lied to police, telling them he’d gone home to bed after the club that night — was the oldest in the group and could have opted not to participate or could have helped the woman escape, the prosecutor said.
Murphy said the men treated
her “like meat amongst a pack of wolves.”
“They tore at her body and used her like an object,” she said.
Murphy said the men eventually took the woman home. She then went to a hospital for a sexual assault examination and filed a police report.
Police have said the case was blown open when they tracked down the lead suspect, 21-year-old Josue Donaldo Leon Cartagena, in Guatemala, and he admitted to the rapes in a phone interview. Cartagena, who has an active arrest warrant, provided information that helped police identify the three other suspects.
Only one of them, Owin Erlandi Lemus Cardona, 26, stood trial in connection with the assault.
A jury deliberated for less than an hour in February before convicting him of kidnapping, conspiracy and two counts of criminal sexual penetration. He faces up to 43 years in prison and is currently awaiting his sentencing.
Edward Climaco Velis, 34, pleaded guilty in May 2023 to criminal sexual penetration and conspiracy. Under the terms of his agreement with the state, Velis could be sentenced to 18 years in prison but will have his sentence capped at 13 years initially, in consideration of his cooperation in the cases against his co-defendants. Velis’ sentence was delayed under the deal until his co-defendants’ cases were resolved.
The victim attended Monday’s hearing but did not address the court. She chose instead to have Murphy read a statement she’d written.
“I don’t feel safe,” Murphy read from the statement. “It hurts that I had to go through all of this. I feel lucky that I didn’t die and that my life was spared. I think all women have the right to walk anywhere.”
Murphy commended the woman for following through with the prosecutions, noting how traumatizing it can be for rape victims to come forward.
“We as women get told our whole lives not to walk alone at night, as if it’s our fault if something happens to us if we do,” Murphy said.
State District Court Judge T. Glenn Ellington also got emotional during the hearing as he commended the woman for her resolve in the face of the “monstrous” assault.
“The strength you have shown in coming forward and going through this process to ensure that no other woman faces the same type of horrible attack that you faced is truly remarkable,” the judge said.
“Nothing I can do here today will undo what has happened,” he added, “but I hope today gives you some closure and that you’re able to move on.”