The Taos News

Landlord sentenced to 10 years in rape case

- By LIAM EASLEY leasley@taosnews.com

Gavel met podium on Tuesday (Feb. 14), after 8th Judicial District Judge Emilio Chavez sentenced 41-year-old Efrain Bernal-Corral to 10 years, 6 months incarcerat­ion in the Taos County Adult Detention Center, with an additional period of parole upon release that will stretch between five years and the rest of Bernal-Corral’s life.

At his August, 2022 trial, a jury convicted Bernal-Corral of seconddegr­ee criminal sexual penetratio­n and false imprisonme­nt, a fourthdegr­ee felony. According to the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network, just 2.5 percent of perpetrato­rs in sexual assault cases are incarcerat­ed. In 2021, the average sentence for a convicted sexual offender was 211 months, according to the United States Sentencing Commission.

A landlord in Ranchos de Taos, Bernal-Corral was charged with the rape and kidnapping of one of his tenants on July 23, 2020. According to 8th Judicial District prosecutor Cosme Ripol, Bernal-Corral had been drinking the night he approached the victim’s apartment, which security footage shows him entering.

Family and friends of the parties were invited to address the court. The first to take the stand was the victim’s father, who claimed that this was not the first time Bernal-Corral had forced himself on a tenant, noting that the previous resident in his daughter’s apartment had accused the landlord of the same actions. The only difference was that the incident on July 23 was partially captured on camera.

“I’m a veteran,” the father of the victim said. “I fought for this country. I’m a person of the community. Coach. Referee. Tried to raise my kids in the right way. Instead, she’s being raped by a man who shook my hand and told me she was gonna be safe. And he clearly remembers that, and so does his wife.”

He went on to add that his daughter had called him one week before the incident, saying that the camera pointed at her door had been disconnect­ed. He added that it had been done by hand, then came to the conclusion that the rape was premeditat­ed. Of the many accusation­s, the father also speculated that

Bernal-Corral’s wife had been in on the scheme and recalled that a witness came forward about being threatened by Bernal-Corral to lie under oath.

Before the sentencing hearing, a compilatio­n of 44 letters in BernalCorr­al’s favor surfaced asking to shorten his sentence. Several authors of the letters appeared before the court, most of whom commended the defendant for his manners and work ethic. Ripol had a bone to pick with the content of many of the letters.

“I note, Your Honor, that about 45 minutes before this hearing, the defense had provided the State of New Mexico with approximat­ely 44 letters testifying for Mr. Bernal-Corral’s being a good citizen and a hard worker and polite to people,” Ripol said. “I would note, Your Honor, that being a hard worker and being polite to people is not mutually exclusive to a polite person and a hard worker also being a rapist.”

The prosecutor went on to name Bill Cosby and Harvey Weinstein, two individual­s who were considered role models yet were later convicted of rape. Bernal-Corral’s attorney said his client didn’t commit rape.

“When we look at it objectivel­y, from what the court has seen in these letters of support for Mr. Bernal, from what the court sees of his history — that he has absolutely no criminal history,” James Mamalis, the defense attorney representi­ng Bernal-Corral, said. “Instead, he has a reputation for kindness. Even his being unfaithful to his wife, as came out in his testimony in the trial, was completely out of character. That he would have raped [the victim] is almost inconceiva­ble.”

The defendant’s daughter even took a stand, addressing the court in tears over the absence of her father. She was followed by Bernal-Corral himself, who also addressed the court in tears.

“I always thought that my intentions were to put my daughter in college,” Bernal-Corral said. “To put her in a better position than I am. I know it’s easy for you and Cosme Ripol to say, ‘Oh, well, get her a scholarshi­p.’ But who’s gonna be there for my daughter when somebody comes and offers her drugs? Are you gonna be there? Cosme Ripol isn’t gonna be there. Of course, if she does something wrong, then he will be there.”

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