Evidence under review in the serial rapist case

The case of the serial rapist, José Luis Álvarez González, who assaulted five foreign-born women between October 2005 and June 2006 and was detained on July 5, is still in the stage of desahogo de pruebas, meaning all evidence collected by the district attorney’s office is being reviewed. Álvarez, who confessed to the crimes, had returned to Mexico after completing a 20-year sentence in Texas for robbery.

According to Miguel Gutiérrez, the local court secretary, Judge Martha Medina is still reviewing testimonies and documents. He said that the court cannot provide any further information.

The process of reviewing evidence normally takes place within a 5- to 12-day period after an arrest is made, but in this case the period has extended to almost two months and can be further extended up to 10 months, if the judge finds it necessary. Consequently, the final sentence has not yet been determined, though District Attorney Pablo Gonzaléz is seeking the maximum sentence of 15 years for each incident. “We have entered into a long process, and even though we know and have evidence, the Mexican legal system requires careful corroboration, even though the time for closing the process has to be extended.”

Mexican law states that the maximum time allowed to hand down a sentence is 10 months after the arrest; however, differences in time limits for testimonies and documented evidence can delay the process.

Álvarez, arrested on July 5 this year, faces a sentence of at least 75 years in prison for five cases of rape and one of attempted rape.

Judge Martha Medina has refused to comment on the case. “The only authority who can provide detailed information on this case is District Attorney Pablo González,” said Gutiérrez. District Attorney González, in Guanajuato with General Attorney Daniel Chowell, has been unavailable to comment on the case despite repeated attempts to communicate with him.