A San José court ordered Jorge EdwinSánchez to 30 years in prison on Mondayfor the 2003 murder of 8-year-old KattiaVanesa González. The court also orderedSánchez to pay ¢20 million ($44,000) foremotional damages to the girl’s family.However, the court ruled against acivil suit filed by Olga Juárez, the girl’smother, for ¢83 million ($182,400),according to Judicial Branch spokeswomanSandra Castro.González’s body was found under thefloorboards of Sánchez’s home on July 10,2003, six days after she disappeared fromher southern San José neighborhood.Sánchez, who lived only 25 meters from theGonzález family, apparently lured the girlinto his home by promising her a pet rabbit.Sánchez reportedly raped and murdereda young girl in 1983, when he was17, but did not serve a prison sentencebecause he was a minor at the time (TT,July 11, 2003).González’s death resulted in the proposalof the “Kattia and Osvaldo Law,”named for González and OsvaldoMadrigal, 4, killed in June 2002 (TT, Dec.24, 2003). The proposed law would createtougher child-protection measures.In 2003, nearly 1.5 million peoplesigned a petition calling for the passage ofthe law, but it remains in the LegislativeAssembly with no set date for a congressionalvote (TT, Nov. 12).
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