Jan 13 2012 - Van der Sloot was also ordered to pay $75,000(59,000 Euro) in reparations by a three-judge panel in Lima for the "cruel" and "ferocious" murder that took place exactly five years to the day after the disappearance of Natalee Holloway in Aruba.
Due to time already served, the judges said van der Sloot's sentence would end in June 2038. But under Peru's penal system, Van der Sloot could become eligible for parole after serving half of the sentence with good behavior, including work and study. Van der Sloot could be freed sometime in his late 30s if paroled after serving half of his 28-year sentence.
Van der sloot, who appeared in court wearing a green T-shirt while sweating profusely, said he was "truly sorry" for the killing of Stephany Flores. He said he had "wanted from the first moment to confess sincerely" to the killing. His lawyer told the court that van der Sloot killed Flores as a result of "extreme psychological trauma" he had suffered from the fallout over the Holloway case.
The victim's father, Ricardo Flores, complained after the verdict that Van der Sloot was enjoying favorable conditions in a Lima prison, where he has been living apart from the general population and foreigners with money can buy superior treatment.
"A jail isn't a 5-star hotel," Ricardo Flores told reporters. "Let's hope the authorities take that into account and not just in our case."
"Since the first day we've been complaining about the excessive privileges" that Van der Sloot allegedly enjoyed in jail, he said.
Flores said he would present evidence of this at a news conference on Monday. Unconfirmed news reports denied by penal authorities say Van der Sloot has a television, smart-phone and video gaming console in his cell.
