Man acquitted in ’78 rape of wife found guilty of raping 2
SALEM, Ore. — An Oregon man who gained notoriety in 1978 when he became the first U.S. man to be tried for raping his wife while they were living together has been convicted of sexually assaulting two women.
John Rideout was found guilty Thursday of rape and sodomy, the Statesman Journal reported (https://is.gd/kEKylE). The verdict in Marion County followed a trial that included testimony from Rideout and the two victims — an acquaintance from his church and an ex-girlfriend.
It had been almost 40 years since he stood trial in the same county for allegedly raping his wife at their Salem apartment in front of their 2-year-old daughter. Rideout was unanimously acquitted in the case that spawned a TV movie starring Mickey Rourke and Linda Hamilton.
That case arose a year after the Oregon Legislature passed a law eliminating marital privilege as a rape defence. Rideout and wife briefly reunited after the trial, but she filed for divorce in March 1979.