Rapist sentenced to 30 days in Jail.

Montana judge sentences ex-teacher to 30 days for sex with teen who committed suicide

Another week and another example of just what a gigantic failure our legal system is and just how much of a joke those who are charged with upholding our laws truly are. A Billings High School teacher was found guilty of raping a 14 yr old female student who later killed herself. His sentence 15 yrs in prison with all but 30 days suspended. Yes you read that right! The teacher Stacy Rambold will serve only 30 days in jail for rape. The judge in his infinite wisdom decided that victim was older then her chronological age. I'm sorry but what? She was older then her chronological age?? Using bing you can clearly see the age of consent in Montana is 16 not 14. So I'm extremely baffled as to how this judge came to the decision that the victim was of culpable mental age but not of physical age. I really have to wonder about this Judges ability to serve this state with verdicts such as this. The girl took her own life over this so add insult to injury by deciding on this verdict.

what the heck difference would it make whether she was chronologically older or younger?

She was raped. The guy raped her. End of story. Toss him away.

Sheesh, some people...

Well, all he did was violate another human being.

Its not like he pirated a song or anything...

reply to post by w810i

Program administrators terminated Rambold after he missed meetings, had unsupervised visits with minors and began having sex with a woman. A civil lawsuit Hanlon filed against the school district revealed that school officials in 2004 ordered Rambold not to touch or spend time alone with female students. The district settled the case for $91,000. Baugh said he didn’t think the actions that got Rambold kicked out of the treatment program warranted years in prison. Rambold’s attorney said his client was now in a new program. Read more: www.nydailynews.com...

from you source this is terrible they knew he was a risk but kept him on,then he went to program did this got kicked out and they are sending him back to the same program? wow this is insane.....this guy belongs in a cage not free in my state............

reply to post by w810i


Been posted already

I'm more disgusted by the judges actions.

I was absolutely with everybody in this thread. I could think of no possible excuse for the judge's decision.

May I suggest you look at some of the related sories linked in the source article? The Billings Gazette is doing a very thorough job on this. One article in particular made me think this is not so clear cut as I thought.

Baugh told a reporter he believes the 30-day jail sentence was appropriate given the nature of the case. He likened the hearing Monday to a probation violation in which a defendant is re-sentenced for violating terms of a suspended sentence.

As he did Monday in court, Baugh said Wednesday he believes the violations of the deferred prosecution agreement between Rambold and state prosecutors were not serious enough to warrant a lengthy prison term.

Judge apologizes

It appears, and you can correct me, that Rambold had been sentenced previously under an agreement that required him to attend a treatment program. After completing two-thirds of the program, he was kicked out becuase he had visited minors and had had sex with a woman. It turns out that the minors were family members.

The judge seemed to believe he was sentencing Rambold for violating the terms of his probation and not for the rape. Rambold, by the way, is in another treatment program.

The case isn't as clear for me any more.

From what I understand sentence was deferred for 3 yrs for the teacher to undergo treatment he got kicked out and in the middle of this the victim killed herself. So proceedings were reopened and he WAS sentenced for her rape but only go 31 days with a day being credited for time served. Thats when the judge gave his ruling that she was older then appeared even though she under the age of consent. The judge is being blasted with demands he resign.

reply to post by w810i

Dear w810i,

Very good. For the most part I agree with you, but I still find this a little complicated. Maybe I'm not quick enough to follow the twists and turns.

From another article in The Billings Gazette:

While the case was pending, and a few weeks before her 17th birthday, Morales took her own life.

The girl's death caused problems for the prosecution, and in July 2010 Rambold entered into a deferred prosecution agreement with the Yellowstone County Attorney's Office.

The agreement called for prosecutors to put the case on hold for three years. The charges would be dismissed, the agreement stated, if Rambold completed a sex offender treatment program and complied with other conditions. (Emphasis added0

Judge sentencing

So you see, the prosecution was prepared to drop all charges if he completed the program. The judge seems to be saying that Rambold's violation of probation was worth an extra thirty days in jail, then he can start over to live up to the terms of his agreement. If he does complete the program, the charges will be dropped and he'll get no time for the rape, Which is what the prosecutors had already agreed to.

With respect,
Charles1952

I think at this point its gotten so convoluted at this its hard to follow it. I've read on some other news sights that once he was removed from the program the original sentence kicked back and all terms of the original plea agreement was rescinded and went back up to the 20 yrs and finished out at the 15 years suspended. which is crap.. rape is rape no matter how hard and far you stretch to twist the definition of the term. Add on top of it the fact that young girl took her life.

reply to post by w810i

Dear w810i,

You're absolutely right, it's one heck of a mess. I do hope that the parents file a wrongful death suit against him. It's not much consolation, but maybe they can get a few dollars from it and make his punishment a little more painful.

With respect,
Charles1952

You have to be careful about these rape cases you read about on the internet. They often leave out many important details and ALWAYS say statutory rape is rape. Since it was an ongoing relationship between the two and the leniency they were showing im going to say it was probably statutory rape. And the original deal would tell me that the victim was probably not willing to claim she was raped.

eta:
Yup

Before Baugh handed down the flimsy sentence, Hanlon had testified that Rambold’s statutory rape of Morales was a “major factor” in the girl’s later suicide. The distraught mother pleaded with the judge for a harsh sentence.

A doctor who is treating Rambold also testified, assuring the judge that the convict poses a low risk to society.

Read more: dailycaller.com...

reply to post by w810i


It's not a matter of you or me or the judge, the law states she is 2yrs under permissable age, there is nothing to debate, this guy is a rapist, and the poor young girl now come and gone, never to be part of this life again. that is just too far over the line... casterate him. and dump him in the desert, something will remove him in time... as if anyone cares, this judge should be removed from his duty with immediate effect... so get OUT Judge..

Originally posted by flipflop
reply to post by w810i

 

It's not a matter of you or me or the judge, the law states she is 2yrs under permissable age, there is nothing to debate, this guy is a rapist, and the poor young girl now come and gone, never to be part of this life again.

Oh you must have a lot of respect for the law...

that is just too far over the line... casterate him. and dump him in the desert, something will remove him in time... as if anyone cares, this judge should be removed from his duty with immediate effect... so get OUT Judge..

....ಠ_ಠ

reply to post by flipflop


I don't understand how people can be outraged about the violation of a human being and then call for violation of another human being. "He raped her so let's castrate him."

Just like with the death penalty, "She killed him so let's kill her."

It seems like a horrid cycle to me.

---

As for the sentence, I don't know all the facts so I can't really say but thirty days seems very light to me, even if he does have to re-attend some sort of treatment.

reply to post by zetaM7


Quite simple. When you do something like this in my mind you forfeit those rights afforded to a human being.

reply to post by w810i


Except that's only in your mind. No matter what crime a person commits, they are still the same species as you and when you call for their death or for them to be maimed in some way, you become that which you oppose.

reply to post by zetaM7


Only in your mind. I'd bet money on the fact that if you were to poll 20 people on the street you'd get almost a 100% agreement that anyone like this guy deserves the worst that can befall him that our legal system allows. We do not live in utopian society where there are no repercussions for acts such as this and all the other horrible stuff that happens. Rainbows and unicorns may as well explode from your ass if you think that way.

reply to post by w810i


Yes, it's a terrible idea to strive for a better world...

I suppose no one should ever strive for anything better, rainbows and unicorns and all that. Pardon me.

Originally posted by w810i
reply to post by zetaM7

 

Only in your mind. I'd bet money on the fact that if you were to poll 20 people on the street you'd get almost a 100% agreement that anyone like this guy deserves the worst that can befall him that our legal system allows.

They'd also tell you Miley Cyrus is an interesting talking point and the GZ trial was a news-worthy incident.

What's your point?

That the general population is void of critical thinking skills?

I'm personally not inclined to get enraged over someone sleeping with a teenager when the teenager atively admits that he/she was actively trying to sleep with them. I understand there is a certain level of bias when you have children whom you want to protect, but my sympathies are with the individuals who are actually part of it rather than the parents who simply seek to control their chilrens' sex lives for whatever reason.

I'll remind you that the story of Romeo and Juliet largely depicts a pre-teen girl with an older man. This story seems to me like they were having a sexual relationship and he got arrested and charges filed agaisnt him and they are no longer allowed to be near eachother so she killed herself.

Now all the harlequins come out to scream at the man who she may have very well thought she was in love with or something when realistically she killed herself because these fools poked their nose in someone else's love life to begin with.

Irony.