Woman gets 40 years in sexual assault captured on video

[cali]

Victim in January assault was a child.

By Steven Kreytak
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Saturday, November 21, 2009

A woman accused of holding down a child while her husband sexually assaulted the girl — an act captured on video — pleaded guilty in a Travis County courtroom Friday and was sentenced to 40 years in prison.

Mariana Garcia's punishmentfor two counts of aggravated sexual assault was part of a plea bargain with prosecutors. The charges carry a maximum sentence of life in prison.

Charges are pending against Garcia's husband, Adrian Navarro, 30.

Garcia, 24, showed little emotion during the proceedings before state District Judge Bob Perkins. At one point, prosecutor Joe Frederick asked her whether Navarro is her husband and whether he is the person in the video. She said "yes."

Outside court, Garcia's lawyer, Bradley Urrutia, said she was emotionally abused by her husband and acted under his control. He said that the plea agreement does not require her to take part in his trial. However, if she were called to testify, she would have to do so because she has pleaded guilty in the case.

<snip>

http://www.statesman.com/news/content/news/stories/local/2009/11/21/1121garcia.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=52

[BR_Parkway]

1. A 2 year old - why should this monster ever breath free air again?

[greennina]

2. She's a victim too.

It's sad to see that she is punished intead of the person that forced her to do these things. As usual, women get the blame for the horrible things that men do.

[cali]

3. she may be a victim but she's also a perp

being a victim doesn't cancel out her heinous act. nor is she taking the blame for what he did. his trial is upcoming. she pled.

[Pisces]

4. charges are still pending against him. He will get his day in court. As for her, I don't shed

a tear. She had free will, unlike that poor 2 yr old. Sorry but abused or not, allowing someone to abuse you is different from allowing them to abuse a child.

[Gwendolyn]

5. You're absolutely right. Nancy Garrido, Karla Homolka, Wanda Ileen Barzee...

all these ladies should never have to deal with a smidgeon of responsibility for their roles in the hideous rapes and murders they took part in.

No woman should ever bear any responsibility for any of her actions. We're completely void of the capacity for intelligence and reasoning.

[verdalaven]

6. There are many abused people who manage to live

their lives without hurting another person in the way that they were hurt. If her abuse caused her to be so weak that she couldn't protect a 2 year old, then it is better she is not on the outside, where perhaps an even worse sociopath (think Manson) can take advantage of her emotional or moral "flexibility."

[mkultra]

7. she needs to take responsibility for her actions

she can have counseling in jail.

[JonQ]

8. Do women not have free will?

Are they not responsible for their own choices and merely puppets at the whims of men.

[seabeyond]

9. they will both deservedly be prosecuted. nt

[Hansel]

13. I don't think it's "instead".

She deserves to do prison time. Having been in a severely abusive relationship I understand what she was going through. Her self esteem and self as a person are likely destroyed.

But I'm sorry, there is NO excuse for her behavior in this matter and she needs to accept the responsibility and consequences for it. Once he moves from you to the children, it's time to snap out of it. I was finally able to break free when he started making suggestive comments about my daughter. That seemed to lift the "control" and I gained the strength to make it clear he was to leave and NEVER return again. I never saw him again. Somehow he understood the spell was broken and he was done.

This woman made the choice to not only stay, but to aid and abet in making her daughter a victim too. Although I can understand how she got there, I cannot excuse her behavior.

[billyoc]

14. lol @instead.

[omega minimo]

16. It's not an either/or choice. The above replies pretend it's all one way or the other.

Surely it's possible to acknowledge the grey areas, although not as easy and quick as black and white assumptions.

Perhaps the man was abused, the woman was abused, the woman was abused by the man, the man was abused by the woman -- CLEARLY this is not a healthy household..... and they abused.

Can we address the larger issues of abuse without in-fighting over who deserves what?

Being married to that and abused by him and sentenced to FORTY YEARS? Rather than look at her as a monster, could we perhaps consider the relatively light sentences for violence and abuse of women in general or the fact that rape is not YET classified as a Hate Crime? :crazy: Compare and see it as, maybe for her obvious participation in a heinous act, 40 years may be a bit much under the circumstances?

Did the existence of the video cause such extreme responses and sentencing for this?

[vadawg]

17. lol i guess the women in this story should really get out sympathy

she had the choice to hurt the child so now shes gonna do the time.... shame we actually have to allow her to keep breathing...

[Odin2005]

20. Or more likely they are both just evil sociopaths.

[The Straight Story]

22. Her man was a victim as well, hell we all are. Just some of us handle it in different ways

How would you handle being a victim?

[proteus_lives]

24. Bullshit.

She may have been a victim once but she's monster now. She should rot in prison.

[abelenkpe]

10. Is the little girl OK?

I hope she has found a better home with loving family.

[flvegan]

11. "The girl being assaulted in the video appeared to be younger than 2"

I hope they both die of old age in prison. Enjoy living in a hell you never imagined, fuckers.

[darmok167]

21. If there is any consolation to this story...

...it is this, IMO. Because of her age she will likely never have to live with the memories of this horrible event. I don't know that for a fact, many people say they can remember things as early as two years old, but I and a lot of others I know don't have any memories until at least age 4 or 5.

Of course, I'm not trying to claim that this poor child hasn't been damaged emotionally (and likely physically) or anything like that because every event in our lives in some way determines who we are, but I'm just saying that in my opinion, things are far far worse when the assault happens at a later age where the memories can never possibly be forgotten.

I don't know. I've never been sexually assaulted, and I am a man, but one of my first memories is something I am sure I would be much better off if it had happened a year or two earlier and I never remembered it happening. I don't really want to elaborate, but it was bad. If that makes any sense.

[Gwendolyn]

23. According to other reports, there was an older child watching in one of the vids.

In another, she's verbally instructing the child. These two were in business together as child pornographers. They've hurt and scarred children forever.

[Danger Mouse]

12. I always say 'I can't imagine people sinking any lower' and get proven wrong...

I'm sick of being proven wrong.

[vadawg]

18. man every day i think to myself people cant get any worse and inevitably they do

imagine the worst thing you can and i can guarentee that there is worse out there, luckily theres only so much you can see before you start to burn out or it would really be a living hell...

[kixat2550]

15. disgusting

[Odin2005]

19. Sociopath, the guy is, too.

Poor little girl. :cry: