A Marathon man was sentenced Monday in Buena Vista County District Court to life in prison for committing sexual abuse.
Back on April 16th, a jury found 47-year-old Jose Garces-Ruiz guilty of 3rd Degree Sexual Abuse, a class C felony. On May 6th, Garces-Ruiz provided the court with an admission of prior violations, as he specifically admitted to two previous convictions for sexual abuse in Woodbury County which enhanced the current offense from a Class C Felony to a Class A Felony.
According to a criminal complaint, on February 12th of 2023, Garces-Ruiz forced himself onto a woman known to be his spouse without her consent at his residence in Marathon.
Garces-Ruiz will spend the rest of his life in prison without the possibility of parole. He was previously convicted of sexual abuse in 1990 and 2003.
The case was prosecuted by Buena Vista County Attorney Paul Allen and Assistant County Attorney Ashley Herrig. The case was originally investigated by the BV County Sheriff’s Office.
