But the little-known law is rarely used, said Virgilio Landazuri, a retired president of Lima's superior court and a supporter of the rape law. In his 11 years on the bench, he said, he saw only a handful of cases, most involving young men convicted of statutory rape for impregnating girls under 14.
"I've never in my whole career seen an adult woman that was violently raped marry her attacker," he said, and argues strongly for keeping what he calls a "good and wise law."
Because of the Andean rural tradition of servinacuy, in which very young highland Indians form temporary tryout marriages, thousands of children are born each year from what are technically statutory rapes, he said.
"If you change the law, half of Peru is going to jail," he argued. "I'm upset that congressmen are spending so much time and money trying to change this very insignificant law."
