Parole in May likely for BYU-area rapist
By Ben Winslow
Deseret Morning News
Published: Friday, Feb. 8, 2008 12:34 a.m. MST
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UTAH STATE PRISON — He is one of the reasons an area near the Brigham Young University campus got the disturbing nickname of "rape hill."

Luis Alonso Rivera, 48, was convicted in 1998 for the kidnapping and sexual assault of a BYU student and the attempted abduction of two others. On Tuesday, he was up for parole.

"I have learned to understand what I did," Rivera said. "Because obviously in the beginning I was lost. I was unaware of the meaning of my actions."

In November 1997, a woman was walking from a church activity at BYU near Maeser Hill when she encountered Rivera, who jogged by her.

"I'm not going to go into graphic detail because your daughter's here," Utah Board of Pardons and Parole hearing officer John Green told Rivera. "You came back, you told her you had a knife and you wanted, 'Just one kiss then I will let you go."'

Rivera dragged the woman into the bushes and raped her. About two months later, he grabbed another woman.

"You tried to lead her into some bushes and said, 'Don't scream or I will kill you,"' Green recounted. "The victim was able to escape and reported it to police."

The sexual attacks cast a dark cloud over BYU and the Provo community. Deseret News stories from the time said that police were pushing hard to find the rapist, and university officials were warning their students to take precautions.

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On Feb. 9, 1998, a man reported a suspicious person in the area and called police. Provo officers spotted the man walking with a woman toward some bushes. Police intervened.

"After speaking with police, you admitted to what you'd done," Green said.

None of Rivera's victims were in attendance at Tuesday's hearing.

"Now I understand what I did and I'm really sorry for that," he said.

Rivera, who is from Honduras, is in the country illegally. If he is released from prison, he would be deported, and Rivera said he did not intend to return to the United States.

"I am planning to be remarried and start a new life," he said.

While in prison, Rivera has completed some courses and received a degree from Utah State University. However, he has not undergone sex-offender therapy.

"The problem is, you're an illegal alien now," Green told him. "With the limited number of resources, they usually don't give illegal aliens sex-offender therapy."

The prison and Green said he would recommend that the parole board release him in May. However, he would be immediately handed over to federal authorities and would be deported. A formal decision is expected to be made within the next month.

E-mail: bwinslow@desnews.com