40-Year Sentence for Defendant in ‘Condom Rape’

A jury handed down a 40-year prison sentence Friday in a rape trial in which the defense argued that the victim had consented to sex by asking her knife-wielding attacker to use a condom.

Joel Rene Valdez, 28, was sentenced by an eight-woman, four-man jury that deliberated for five hours. The jurors said Valdez must serve a mandatory 10 years.

His accuser said: “I have been called the victim in the condom rape case. I am not the ‘condom rape’ victim. I do not have a victim’s mentality.”

The jury had a wide range of options for sentencing after finding on Thursday that Valdez was guilty of rape. The sentence could have ranged from five years of probation to 99 years in prison.

Prosecutors said a harsh sentence would send a message to women that protecting themselves with a condom during a rape would not be held against them.

And members of women’s groups who packed the courtroom said a stiff sentence would send a positive message.

“I think hopefully the message will go out now that whatever you do to protect yourself will be OK and not be used against you,” said Lynn Thompson-Haas, executive director of the Austin Rape Crisis Center and a member of the National Coalition Against Sexual Assault.