Man Sentenced for Torturing, Electrocuting Ex-Wife After Accusing Her of Cheating: DA

The victim alleges being hanged after she fell off a bucket with a noose he'd tied around her neck, as well as being tied up and electrocuted for five hours while the suspect questioned her.

A man has been sentenced to a minimum of 14 years after allegedly torturing his then-wife via electrocution and nearly hanging her over his fears she was cheating on him.

The man was reportedly remorseful in court ahead of his sentence on Monday, October 28. He was sentenced to 14 to 30 years after pleading no contest to two counts of torture and one count of intimidating a witness.

According to the prosecutor's office in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Saul Ipina-Lucio, 32, entered a plea of no contest after his ex-wife offered hours of testimony against him in Kent County Circuit Court.

Jefferson County Sheriff's Office

Makeshift Torture

According to testimony detailed by MLive.com, the horrific situation began when Lucio-Ipina accused his then-wife of cheating on him, and when he didn't get the answers he was looking for from her, the alleged abuse began.

In one incident the woman detailed to the jury, but did not report to the police at the time, Lucio-Ipina allegedly had her stand on a bucket with a noose tied around her neck and to the ceiling of their basement.

The defendant allegedly hit her while she was on the bucket. At one point, the woman said she fell off the bucket and was being hung, but Lucio-Ipina did intervene and cut her down.

ABC15

At another time, she alleged that her then-husband tied her to a makeshift device he'd created from a children's swing hung in their basement. While tied to the device, she says Lucio-Ipina wrapped metal wire around her arms and back.

She alleged being tortured on this device for approximately five hours, with Lucio-Ipina hooking jumper cables to an exposed wire to electrocute her as he questioned her about his belief she was cheating.

"Any time I would answer a question or didn’t answer a question, he would zap me," the woman testified, per MLive.com. She said that she was tied up until Lucio-Ipina grew tired and freed her. The woman has since divorced the defendant.

Fairfax County Police Department

No Contest Plea

The trial would have continued with additional testimony, but Lucio-Ipina pleaded no contest to the charges against him after his ex-wife's testimony, ending the proceedings.

"I just want to apologize to my victim, first of all," he said, "and everyone I hurt in this process, which is my entire family and community." He did not mention his ex-wife by name, according to MLive.com.

"Anyone who would do this type of thing, I think is a danger in general," said Kent County Circuit Judge George Quist, per NBC affiliate WOOD, calling it the "most egregious behavior I've seen" before handing down his sentence.

Lucio-Ipina was sentenced to 14-30 years in prison for each torture charge, to be served concurrently. Additionally, he was sentenced to time served, after being in prison for 544 days pending trial, for witness intimidation.

If you are experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or go to thehotline.org. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages; Calls are confidential and toll-free.