Lightest Penalty Available; 5th Gets Prison : 4 Given Probation in Dallas Rape and Beating

Four men convicted of tying a 28-year-old Dallas woman to a table, then raping and beating her for 12 hours, were sentenced to probation today, the lightest punishment available under Texas law.

A fifth man, the woman’s former boyfriend, David Cupples, 32, was sentenced by the Dallas County jury to two 10-year prison terms.

Prosecutor Jeff Hines had sought maximum sentences ranging from 20 years to life in prison for the kidnaping and sexual assault convictions.

Hines described the woman’s ordeal last February as “a night in hell” in which she had stopped by Cupples’ home to remove her belongings but was seized by the men, strapped to a butcher block table and repeatedly raped.

The woman’s new boyfriend, who had accompanied her to Cupples’ Duncanville home, was tied up with baling wire and forced to watch the all-night attack.

In testimony Wednesday, Cupples apologized for his “lack of good judgment” and urged the jury to give his four friends, ranging in age from 19 to 32, probation.

The four men were placed on probation for periods of 6 to 10 years.