In Minnesota divorce cases, one spouse may be ordered by a judge to continue making monthly payments to the other spouse for a period of time following the dissolution of the marriage. These are called alimony payments, and they often help to ease any financial pain suffered by the poorer spouse. However, one woman has been ordered to pay alimony to her ex-husband in a California case that may shock readers.

In 2008, the 39-year-old woman was sexually assaulted by her 40-year-old husband. Despite her protestations and cries for help, her husband raped her, even as their two children were nearby. He claimed in a court proceeding that the sex was consensual, but she managed to secretly record the assault.

The woman subsequently sought a divorce from her husband, who was sentenced to six years in prison. But as she earned $11,000 per month from her job while the husband made only $400 a month from his, a judge ordered her to pay alimony to him. Thus, she has been ordered to pay $1,000 per month to the man who assaulted her. She was also ordered to cover $47,000 in his legal expenses.

The result has shocked many and has attracted worldwide attention. The judge claims that he was merely following the law, but he nonetheless still used judicial discretion in coming to his decision. When judges decide matters such as alimony payments in a divorce case, they typically use a number of factors that they balance and weigh. In order to tip the scale in their favor, Minnesota couples may wish to retain legal counsel that may be able to help them making a persuasive legal argument.

Source: Daily Mail Online, "Husband is in prison for sexually assaulting wife... now she has to pay HIM $1000 a month in alimony after divorce," Paul Thompson, Dec. 05, 2011