Hyannis man sentenced to 6-8 years following conviction for raping his now ex-wife

BARNSTABLE — Before her ex-husband was sentenced following his conviction for raping her during the course of their marriage, Danielle Silva, 37, told a Barnstable Superior Court judge that she feels she and her two children are already "serving life sentences."

Silva told Judge Mark Gildea on Thursday she struggles with anxiety, panic attacks, headaches and body aches, fatigue, insomnia, and symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder.

"Altogether, the totality of the effects of this crime against me are so far-reaching that they will likely last my entire life, no matter how much I try to forget, ignore, or wish that these things did not happen to me…we're left behind to live with his destruction for the remainder of our lives," said Silva who offered her victim statement via a Zoom hookup.

After listening to her statement and arguments for the defense, Gildea sentenced Alvys Marino, 52, of Hyannis, to up to eight years in state prison.

What was Alvys Marino convicted of?

On June 22, a Barnstable Superior Court jury of seven women and five men found Marino guilty of raping Silva, 37, in 2013, 2017, 2019, and 2020. In addition, the jury also decided he recorded portions of the reported 2019 attack without consent, committed assault and battery on a family or household member, and threatened to commit a crime. All the attacks occurred in Mashpee.

The jury acquitted Marino of violating an abuse prevention order and of assault with a dangerous weapon.

Gildea sentenced Marino to six to eight years at the Souza-Baranowski Correctional Center for two of the rape charges, to be served concurrently. On the charge of photographing an unsuspecting nude person, the court placed him on probation for the term of his incarceration.

In a statement to the Times, Emir Sehic, Marino's defense attorney, said his client maintains his innocence and "fully intends to pursue his appellate rights in this matter," adding they are confident that process will be successful.

"There was little to no police investigation, a plethora of extraneous material, and zero corroborating witnesses apart from a motivated and biased complainant," said Sehic. "The evidence speaks for itself and it says reasonable doubt."

Ex-husband Alvys Marino ordered to undergo a sex offender evaluation

For the remaining convictions, the court placed Marino on probation for four years after the prison sentences. Special conditions of probation include no contact with Silva, abide by any restraining order, complete a certified batterer's program, and undergo a sex offender evaluation and any recommended treatment.

Marino has the right to appeal to the Appellate Division of the Superior Court within 10 days for review of the sentence.

Historically, the courts and legal system were slow to acknowledge marital rape. In 1979, James Chretien, a Salem bartender and the first man to be tried in Massachusetts on a charge of raping his wife, was sentenced to three to five years in Walpole State Prison.

The Cape Cod Times does not typically identify victims of crime but has Silva's permission to name her.

Sehic requested the court impose a sentencing on the rape charges of three to five years to run concurrently; and a five-year probationary period on the other charges to run concurrently upon his release with special conditions.

He also pointed to what he called inconsistencies in Silva's testimony throughout the trial and also referred to multiple character statements from people who know Marino including his children.

"They talk about a long history of involvement with Danielle as Mr. Marino ... they understand their father is very vocal, he's loud. He's brash, brutish at times. However, he's been a loving, caring, providing father throughout the entire period of that time," said Sehic.

Marino had 12 restraining orders against him by five different women, prosecutor says

Assistant Attorney General Jennifer Snook, who prosecuted, recommended eight to ten years in state prison for two of the rape charges, and that Marino be placed on probation after the prison sentence for the remaining counts. In her reasoning, she discussed his criminal background, which includes one conviction for violation of a restraining order in 2008, and that he has had 12 restraining orders against him from five different women, including Silva.

Eight of those restraining orders were sought by his first wife, who had submitted a character statement in support of him.

During the course of the trial, Marino was also arraigned in Falmouth District Court for a violation of a restraining order and pleaded not guilty, according to the clerk's office. The next court date in that matter at Falmouth District Court is July 31.

The couple married in 2009 and then divorced in 2021

Silva and Marino met in 2006 in Falmouth before marrying in 2009. By February 2021, Silva and Marino were legally divorced but continued to live together for a period of time.

Silva, who now lives in Florida, and Marino have two children. According to Sehic, a custody trial is still pending in Barnstable Probate and Family Court.

Marino was indicted by a Barnstable County grand jury in August 2022.

Before handing down the sentence, Gildea denied a motion by Sehic asking for a required finding of not guilty or alternatively granting a new trial. In arguing the motion, Sehic had asserted that the testimony offered at trial did not prove the element of force or threat and that angry voicemails and recordings heard during the trial "were entirely prejudicial and not broken into the specific allegations that we were dealing with here."

In an interview with the Times before the trial, Silva said she considers herself a survivor because "I was able to get away from it and I'm not succumbing to it."

"I'm not letting what I went through and what he did to me define my future. I'm going to be happy, I am happy, I'm going to be a good mother, I'm going to form new relationships and bonds in my life regardless of what I went through. I'm not giving up on life. I'm going to thrive despite the things that I've been through," said Silva then. "The reality is I was his victim, but I don't continue to be his victim."

Zane Razzaq writes about housing and real estate. Reach her at zrazzaq@capecodonline.com. Follow her on Twitter @zanerazz.

Gain access to premium Cape Cod Times content by subscribing.

This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: Barnstable jury convicts Alvys Marino of four counts of raping wife