A Clark County Superior judge on Thursday sentenced a Vancouver man convicted of kidnapping, raping and burning a former girlfriend to more than 23 years in prison.
Kivenson Elies, 29, was convicted in a bench trial in August of second-degree domestic violence rape, domestic violence unlawful imprisonment and second-degree domestic violence assault.
According to court records, Elies met with the woman in January in Oregon, shortly after he was released from prison. He was imprisoned for second-degree domestic violence assault and unlawful imprisonment, according to records in that case.
When he entered the woman’s vehicle, he forced her to drive to a bank to withdraw $500 for him. He then forced her to drive to the Motel 6 in Vancouver, where he punched walls to scare her, raped her and burned her with a lit cigarette, court records state.
At one point, he tried forcing her to buy the matches he used to burn her, Deputy Prosecutor Luka Vitasovic said.
“It was just one way to degrade a human being after another that evening,” Vitasovic said, explaining the state’s sentencing recommendation of 280 months.
Vitasovic said that when the money the woman withdrew from the bank wasn’t enough, Elies forced her to get more money at a payday-loan business.
According to court records, Elies gave the woman a choice to have him burn her hand or her face.
He told her he tortured her because she didn’t perform the forced sex acts to his satisfaction, according to court documents, and he later paraded her injuries in front of a nephew to show this is “what happens to girls who don’t comply,” according to court records.
Elies’ attorney, John Terry, argued for the lower end of the range, or 210 months. He said that after 15 years in prison, Elies will likely be a different person, and it would be more fitting to let the state’s sentencing review board make the call then as to whether he deserves more time.
“This gives him a motivation to do well in prison, to change,” Terry said.
Judge Scott Collier conceded Terry’s argument had merit but said what Elies did was so callous and depraved it warranted the full prison term.
