BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — Faced with growing backlash, a Billings, Mont., judge who sentenced a man to 30 days for raping a 14-year-old girl is standing by his decision and comments that the girl was older than her “chronological age” when it came to sexual matters.

District Judge G. Todd Baugh handed down the sentence Monday after former Billings Senior High School teacher Stacey Rambold, 54, was terminated from a sexual offender treatment program that was part of a deal to have his prosecution deferred. The judge said he wasn’t convinced that the reasons for Rambold’s termination from the program were serious enough to warrant a 10-year prison term recommended by prosecutors.

In handing down the sentence, Baugh also said Cherice Moralez was “older than her chronological age” and “as much in control of the situation” as the teacher.

Moralez killed herself in 2010 at age 16 while the case was pending.

A petition for the judge’s censure is being drafted and a protest was scheduled for Thursday at Veterans Memorial Park, which adjoins Yellowstone County Courthouse in downtown Billings.

The girl’s mother, Auleia Hanlon, left the sentencing hearing screaming, “You people suck!” She said in a statement Tuesday she no longer believes in justice after Baugh’s remarks and sentence, the Billings Gazette reported.

“She wasn’t even old enough to get a driver’s license. But Judge Baugh, who never met our daughter, justified the paltry sentence saying she was older than her chronological age,” Hanlon said. “I guess somehow it makes a rape more acceptable if you blame the victim, even if she was only 14.”

Under state law, children younger than 16 cannot consent to sexual intercourse.

Baugh told the newspaper Tuesday that he stood by his comments that Moralez was a troubled youth who was older than her age when it came to sexual matters. That didn’t make Rambold’s sex with Moralez any less of a crime, he said.
“Obviously, a 14-year-old can’t consent. I think that people have in mind that this was some violent, forcible, horrible rape,” Baugh said. “It was horrible enough as it is just given her age, but it wasn’t this forcible beat-up rape.”
Moralez’s death complicated the case, Baugh said. The prosecution and defense reached an agreement after her death that Rambold would enter sexual-offender treatment.

If the former teacher completed treatment and complied with other conditions, the case would have been closed.

Rambold was terminated from the program in November when it was learned that he had been having unsupervised visits with minors, who were family members, and did not inform counselors that he had been having sexual relations with a woman.

“I think what people are seeing is a sentence for rape of 30 days. Obviously on the face of it, if you look at it that way, it’s crazy,” Baugh said. “No wonder people are upset. I’d be upset, too, if that happened.”

pacino wrote:the most horrible thing i've read in a while:

The prosecution and defense reached an agreement after her death that Rambold would enter sexual-offender treatment.

If the former teacher completed treatment and complied with other conditions, the case would have been closed.

Rambold was terminated from the program in November when it was learned that he had been having unsupervised visits with minors, who were family members, and did not inform counselors that he had been having sexual relations with a woman.

A Yellowstone County prosecutor says he believes a state judge erred in giving a 30-day prison sentence to a former teacher convicted of raping a 14-year-old girl who later committed suicide.
County Attorney Scott Twito said Thursday that a legal review of the case suggests former teacher Stacey Rambold should have received at least two years in prison.

District Judge G. Todd Baugh has been sharply criticized over Monday's sentencing, in which he said the victim was "older than her chronological age" and had some control over her relationship with Rambold.

Twito says he's working with the appellate division of the state Attorney General's Office on whether to appeal. A final decision has not been made.

Prosecutors originally sought a 20-year sentence with 10 years suspended.

jerseyhoya wrote:Cameron lost the Commons vote by 13 votes

Administration now saying that they're willing to go it alone. No UN, no NATO, no UK, no US Congress.

Hilarious

jerseyhoya wrote:Cameron lost the Commons vote by 13 votes

Administration now saying that they're willing to go it alone. No UN, no NATO, no UK, no US Congress.

Hilarious

Werthless wrote:

jerseyhoya wrote:Cameron lost the Commons vote by 13 votes

Administration now saying that they're willing to go it alone. No UN, no NATO, no UK, no US Congress.

Hilarious

I don't see why he wouldnt reach out to Congress and build internal support. I don't see how unilateral action is the best solution.

jerseyhoya wrote:

Werthless wrote:

jerseyhoya wrote:Cameron lost the Commons vote by 13 votes

Administration now saying that they're willing to go it alone. No UN, no NATO, no UK, no US Congress.

Hilarious

I don't see why he wouldnt reach out to Congress and build internal support. I don't see how unilateral action is the best solution.

I think he's afraid of losing a vote in Congress.

In the U.S., many lawmakers are still in their districts on August recess, leaving the administration scrambling to arrange a conference call with Congressional leaders using classified phone lines, sources told NBC News.

And a letter signed by 98 House Republicans and 18 Democrats warned Obama that “engaging our military in Syria when no direct threat to the United States exists and without prior Congressional authorization would violate the separation of powers that is clearly delineated in the Constitution.”
The letter, circulated by Rep. Scott Rigell, a Virginia Republican, said lawmakers “stand ready to come back into session, consider the facts before us, and share the burden of decisions made regarding U.S. involvement in the quickly escalating Syrian conflict.” But it offered no sign that they planned to do so.
The hands-off approach could allow the GOP to exploit the issue for political gain. With Americans wary of another military intervention in the Middle East, Republicans are eager to distance themselves from any decision to go to war. And insisting that Obama get congressional authorization helps further the notion of an out-of-control executive that much of the conservative movement has bought into lately. At the same time, some Republicans like Sen. John McCain are urging Obama to respond, and look ready to criticize him for not doing enough.

jerseyhoya wrote:Barack Obama does not want Congress to have to vote to approve his strike on Syria because Barack Obama fears Congress will not vote to approve his strike on Syria if they were asked to vote to approve his strike on Syria

pacino wrote:you appear to take too much glee in uncertain things that are being whispered but not stated.
yeah:

In the U.S., many lawmakers are still in their districts on August recess, leaving the administration scrambling to arrange a conference call with Congressional leaders using classified phone lines, sources told NBC News.

And a letter signed by 98 House Republicans and 18 Democrats warned Obama that “engaging our military in Syria when no direct threat to the United States exists and without prior Congressional authorization would violate the separation of powers that is clearly delineated in the Constitution.”
The letter, circulated by Rep. Scott Rigell, a Virginia Republican, said lawmakers “stand ready to come back into session, consider the facts before us, and share the burden of decisions made regarding U.S. involvement in the quickly escalating Syrian conflict.” But it offered no sign that they planned to do so.
The hands-off approach could allow the GOP to exploit the issue for political gain. With Americans wary of another military intervention in the Middle East, Republicans are eager to distance themselves from any decision to go to war. And insisting that Obama get congressional authorization helps further the notion of an out-of-control executive that much of the conservative movement has bought into lately. At the same time, some Republicans like Sen. John McCain are urging Obama to respond, and look ready to criticize him for not doing enough.

the republicans have decided they respect the War Powers Act again, and it is, as jh stated, 'hilarious'. but whatever, in the end it's what is right. we probably shouldnt do much more than what we're doing, but it's not going to be the end of democracy as we know it if we do since the executive has already been so aggressively and permanently expanded. putting president obama up as the major abuser of it is indeed 'hilarious'

drsmooth wrote:

jerseyhoya wrote:Barack Obama does not want Congress to have to vote to approve his strike on Syria because Barack Obama fears Congress will not vote to approve his strike on Syria if they were asked to vote to approve his strike on Syria

Barry doesn't have to run for office again, remember

You're acting like he WANTS to be John McCain

jesus, you're the tactical wizard, not me

When he was first elected mayor of Newark, the tale of T-Bone was a staple of Cory Booker’s speeches.

"I said hello to this guy and I’ll never forget he leaped off the steps where he was standing and looked at me and threatened my life," Booker said during a 2007 speech at the New School in New York.

"I later got to know this guy and his name was T-Bone and I’m a vegetarian so that was a particularly vicious threat," Booker said to big laughs.

Months later, The Star-Ledger tried to find T-Bone, to no avail. Those who knew Booker then said the character was a fabrication.

But now, as Booker faces off against Republican Steve Lonegan in a heated battle to replace the late Democratic U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg, the tale of T-Bone is back with a vengeance.

An article published Thursday in the conservative National Review rehashed the story, quoting respected Newark historian Clement Price, who said the mayor confessed to him that T-Bone was a tall tale. In an interview with The Star-Ledger Thursday, Price again said Booker’s story was made-up. "Cory realized that he had erred," Price said of his 2008 conversation with the mayor. "He told me that my criticism of his invention of T-Bone made perfect sense to him and he had made a mistake."

drsmooth wrote:

jerseyhoya wrote:Cameron lost the Commons vote by 13 votes

Administration now saying that they're willing to go it alone. No UN, no NATO, no UK, no US Congress.

Hilarious

Surely you can find a more mature observation to make, given the context.
I know you can do it

ffs

jerseyhoya wrote:
He believes he has a responsibility to act, though he's clearly not enthusiastic about it. Congress voting against action would prevent him from what he views as his responsibility, following through on his word. Whether he has to run for office again or not is completely fucking irrelevant.