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A Montana judge apologized but said he had no plans to resign after his remarks about a 14-year-old rape victim and the 30-day jail sentence he handed the perpetrator sparked outrage.
District Judge G. Todd Baugh said Wednesday he "deserved to be chastised" for his comments about the victim, who he had said was "older than her chronological age" and had as much control of the situation as the Billings Senior High School teacher who was in a sexual relationship with her.
Baugh said he stood by his decision Monday to sentence the former teacher, Stacey Rambold, to 15 years in prison, with all of but 31 days of that term suspended. He gave Rambold credit for one day already served.
A Senior High teacher convicted of raping a 14-year-old student who later committed suicide was sentenced to spend just 30 days in jail, partly because the victim seemed "older than her chronological age."
I started having sex with adult men when I was 13 years old.
Neglected at home and ostracized at school, I found comfort in the sexual attentions of older men. Unlike boys my own age, who cruelly taunted me, older men were nice to me. Unlike my emotionally distant father, older men paid attention to me. They were grooming me, but to that chubby, attention-starved teenage girl, their attentions felt a lot like love.
The unintended consequences of sexualizing children at younger and younger ages.
You know that the girl committed suicide right?
The unintended consequences of sexualizing children at younger and younger ages.
You know that the girl committed suicide right?
I'm surprised that you're not blaming the victim.
Thank you.
G. Todd Baugh, Montana Judge Apologizes For Comments About Teen Rape Victim
Thirty days sentence and blame the victim.A Montana judge apologized but said he had no plans to resign after his remarks about a 14-year-old rape victim and the 30-day jail sentence he handed the perpetrator sparked outrage.
District Judge G. Todd Baugh said Wednesday he "deserved to be chastised" for his comments about the victim, who he had said was "older than her chronological age" and had as much control of the situation as the Billings Senior High School teacher who was in a sexual relationship with her.
Baugh said he stood by his decision Monday to sentence the former teacher, Stacey Rambold, to 15 years in prison, with all of but 31 days of that term suspended. He gave Rambold credit for one day already served.
We're right back in the Dark Ages.
Justices said Judge G. Todd Baugh lacked authority to impose a new sentence on former Billings teacher Stacey Rambold, 54. An appeal of the case already was pending from prosecutors who contend Rambold should serve two years, at a minimum. But Baugh had sought to undo the sentence on his own after his remarks triggered a public backlash and calls for his resignation. Rambold's victim, Cherice Moralez, committed suicide in 2010 while the case was pending. Baugh commented at Rambold's Aug. 26 sentencing that she was "as much in control of the situation as was the defendant."
The state Supreme Court intervention came in response to an emergency petition from the Attorney General's Office to stop Baugh's plans for a Friday afternoon resentencing. The state had warned that Baugh's plans could throw the case into disarray and "cause gross injustice to an orderly appeal." Less than an hour before the hearing was to begin, the high court ordered Baugh to cancel it and enter a written sentence for Rambold so the appeal process could proceed. Court records show Baugh submitted two signed judgments on Friday: One calling for a two-year prison term for Rambold with a note at the bottom saying it was withdrawn given the Supreme Court order and a second that matched his original oral pronouncement for a 30 day term.
Appearing in his courtroom about the time the hearing was scheduled to begin, Baugh told a group of reporters that he stuck with his original, oral judgment in order to comply with the court order. The judge also seemed to affix some degree of blame for the original sentence on prosecutors, because they did not immediately raise objections to his actions at the Aug. 26 hearing. Yellowstone County Attorney Scott Twito said in response that his office had sought 20 years in prison for Rambold with 10 years suspended, and it was up to the judge to make a final determination that day.
Rambold will continue to serve out the original sentence while the appeal is pending, Twito said. That means he will be released from prison late next month but remain under probation and have to register as a sex offender. Activists who pushed for Baugh to resign or be removed from the bench said Friday those efforts would continue. "He took no responsibility, no ownership. He blamed the state, blamed the prosecutor," said Marian Bradley, president of the Montana National Organization for Women. She said his earlier comments "tell women it's not OK to step forward, because even if you do, you could be knocked down by a judge."
More Court stops Mont. judge from undoing rape sentence | CNS News
