An Oak Harbor man who raped his wife while she was sleeping and allegedly tried to have her killed was sent to prison Monday.

As part of a plea bargain, Guadalupe A. Ramos pleaded guilty in Island County Superior Court earlier this year to rape in the second degree.

Monday, Judge Alan Hancock handed Ramos an indeterminate sentence of eight years and six months to life in prison. That means he will serve the minimum of eight years and six months and then a sentencing review board will decide when he gets out.

The sentence was the maximum under the standard sentencing range, as requested by the prosecution.

Deputy Prosecutor Michael Safstrom explained to the judge that the prosecution promised not to file additional charges related to the case or seek an exceptional sentence in exchange for Ramos’ guilty plea. He said Ramos passed a written note to a fellow Island County jail inmate “which can reasonably be interpreted as soliciting the murder” of his wife.

Safstrom said the note was meant to be passed on to another inmate; he said Ramos also provided payment to another inmate.

Safstrom argued that Ramos’ sentence should be the top of the standard range because of the defendant’s “egregious lack of remorse.”

“I think Mr. Ramos has earned every day of that sentence,” he said.

Safstrom pointed out that Ramos had been warned and had plenty of chances to stop his criminal behavior, which was repeatedly entering his wife’s bedroom and raping her while she was sleeping. The victim alleged that Ramos drugged her before sexually assaulting her, the police report states.

During a marriage counseling session, Ramos promised to stop raping his wife in her sleep if she gave him verbal compliments, Safstrom said. Ramos, however, raped her again, prompting her to call the police.

Safstrom said the crime had a devastating effect on the victim, who is currently at a trauma rehabilitation center.

Cassie Trueblood, a public defender, argued that her client should get a sentence at the low end of the range since a “safeguard” is built into the indeterminate sentence. She pointed out that the Department of Corrections sentencing review board will decide whether or not Ramos should be released at the end of the minimum term.

Also, Trueblood said Ramos has no criminal history. Safstrom, however, said Ramos was involved in military court proceedings for allegedly raping another woman, but he was not convicted.

In the end, Hancock said Ramos deserved the longest possible sentence. He said Ramos had treated the woman “like a piece of property rather than a human being.”