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Patricia Esparza Sentenced To Prison For Pointing Out Alleged Rapist To Man Who Killed Him [Video]

By Patricia Ramirez
Published on: 19:54 PST, Jul 16, 2016

Back in 1995, Norma Patricia Esparza, known to her loved ones as Patricia, was a college student in Southern California. According to her, it was in that same year that she was raped by Gonzalo Ramirez after she met him at bar. After her alleged rape, Patricia Esparza went back to the same bar a few weeks later, her ex-boyfriend in tow. She then pointed out Gonzalo Ramirez to her ex, who followed Esparza’s alleged rapist out of the bar that night along with two friends. The trio kidnapped Ramirez and murdered him, ultimately hacking him to death with a meat cleaver because he allegedly raped Esparza.

Patricia Esparza is not believed to have been present when Ramirez was murdered, reports Fox News.

Fast forward 17 years. After the vicious murder of her alleged rapist, Patricia Esparza’s life continued as planned. She earned a doctorate in psychology, worked as a professor of the subject in Switzerland, and even as a consultant to the World Health Organization. She built a family.

All the while, the murder of Ramirez went unsolved. Unsolved but not uninvestigated.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xvzPLPbHuK0

While Patricia Esparza was living her life, police continued to actively investigate Ramirez’s murder, and in 2012 Patricia Esparza and the three men directly involved in his killing were arrested. Esparza has consistently proclaimed her innocence in the murder of her alleged rapist, but ultimately she decided to accept a plea deal to avoid potentially spending decades in prison as a result of the slaying.

On Friday, Patricia Esparza was officially sentenced for her role in the murder, 21 years after the crime took place. Ultimately, she was sentenced to six years in prison for pointing out the man she claims to have raped her to her ex-boyfriend. She is now 41-years-old.

According to her lawyer, Esparza was nowhere near the scene of the crime when her alleged rapist was murdered. She did, however, admit to pointing him out to one of the men who would end up taking his life for his alleged crime against her.

“She has come to the point of accepting what happened and her responsibility for not coming forward sooner.”

The case against Patricia Esparza has garnered international attention, particularly from victim’s advocacy groups, who contend that charging a rape victim for speaking out about what happened to them sends “a chilling message.”

According to Esparza, she told her ex-boyfriend Gianni Van that the murder victim had raped her. Later, Van and two friends tailed Ramirez in their car, rear-ended, abducted and murdered him with a meat cleaver based on Patricia Esparza’s claim that he had raped her. The trio dumped the alleged rapist’s corpse along the side of an Irvine, California road.

Two of Patricia Esparza’s co-defendants in the murder case were also sentenced for their roles in the murder of Patricia’s alleged rapist on Friday. Diane Tran was sentenced to four years in prison, however she walked out of court a free woman because she was given credit for time served. Shannon Gries, a co-defendant who reportedly played an active role in the killing was sentenced to 25 years to life. According to Gries, he plans to use the time he spends in prison trying to “make amends” with the alleged rapist’s family.

According to a letter written by one of Ramirez’s family members, his family still struggles with dealing with the details of his murder.

“It torments us to think of each stab, each hack and blow that he received while being tied without being able to defend himself.”

Patricia Esparza’s husband told the media back in 2013 that his wife had nothing to do with the murder of her alleged rapist. Jorge Mancillas said that after she told Van about the rape, he “took matters into his own hands.”

Patricia Esparza pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter in 2014 as part of a plea agreement; as part of that agreement she also agreed to testify against Van, who was sentenced to life without parole in 2015.

While friends and strangers alike have criticized the actions of Patricia Esparza, with many saying that she should have reported the alleged rape to police and let the legal system decide the level of justice she would receive, many others disagree with that assessment of the situation. Indeed, in a culture full of Brock Turner situations, where even rapists actually caught in the act of raping walk away with mere slaps on the wrist for their crimes, many victim’s advocacy groups and private citizens alike have come out in Esparza’s defense.

What do you think? Is it appropriate to sentence an alleged rape victim to prison for speaking out about the crime and pointing out the perpetrator? Do you think Esparza played a more active role in the murder of her alleged rapist than she has admitted? Did the justice system handle the Patricia Esparza case appropriately?

[Photo via Amy Taxin/AP Photo]

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