Montana teacher gets 30 days in jail in rape of 14-year-old student who later kills herself

[Penny Lane 8,159]

(CNN) -- A mother in Montana is outraged that a high school teacher who admitted raping her 14-year-old daughter received only a month in prison, while her daughter took her own life.

"I think this sentence is a joke, a travesty," the mother, Auliea Hanlon, told CNN on Tuesday night, a day after the sentencing.

"People will lose faith in our justice system. I have."

Hanlon said she was particularly upset that the sentencing judge, G. Todd Baugh, said her daughter "seemed older than her chronological age" and was "as much in control of the situation" as the teacher.

Baugh later acknowledged to CNN that "that was not the best choice of words."

The case began in 2008 when the teen was a student at Billings Senior High School and Stacey Dean Rambold was a teacher.

She was 14 at the time; he was 49.

Hanlon claims Rambold's "pre-sexual grooming" of her daughter led to the pair having sex.

School officials learned of the relationship, and Rambold resigned.

Later that year, authorities charged Rambold with three counts of sexual intercourse without consent.

"It's not probably the kind of rape most people think about," Baugh said. "It was not a violent, forcible, beat-the-victim rape, like you see in the movies. But it was nonetheless a rape. It was a troubled young girl, and he was a teacher. And this should not have occurred."

As the case wound its way through the legal system, the girl committed suicide. She was a few weeks shy of her 17th birthday.

"As a result of the sexual assault and its aftermath, (the teen) experienced severe emotional distress, humiliation and embarrassment and fell into irreversible depression that tragically led to her taking her own life on February 6, 2010," Hanlon said in a complaint filed against Rambold.

Hanlon told CNN the relationship was to blame for her daughter's death.

"Well it definitely had something to do with it," she said. "A teenager's whole life is about school and their friends, and he turned everyone against her."

With the teen's death, the prosecution entered into what is known as a "deferred prosecution agreement" with Rambold

.

This meant that all charges against Rambold would be dismissed if he completed a sex offender treatment program and met other requirements. One of them was to have no contact with children.

Rambold admitted to one of the rape charges.

But Rambold fell short of the agreement.

"He had some contacts with nieces and nephews in a family setting and other adults were present," Baugh said.

He also had relationships with women that he didn't tell his counselors about.

"That is a violation from his deferred prosecution so he was dropped from the plan."

As a result, the case was revived in December 2012.

At a hearing Monday, prosecutors asked the judge to send Rambold away for 20 years.

The defense argued that Rambold has suffered enough. His lawyers said he lost his career and his marriage and has the "scarlet letter of the Internet" due to the publicity surrounding the case, the Billings Gazette reported.

Baugh ruled that Rambold's infractions weren't serious enough.

"He made some violations of his treatment program," he said. "They were more technical and not the kind you would send someone to prison for."

He sentenced Rambold to 15 years in prison. Then, he suspended all but 31 days of the sentence, according to the Yellowstone County District Court.

In addition, the judge gave him credit for one day he spent in jail.

Incredulous at what had happened, Hanlon shouted at the court, "You people suck."

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

Baugh defended his ruling. He told CNN he believes Rambold is "treatable" and a "low risk to re-offend."

Two videotaped interviews with the teenager -- one with the police department and one with the defense attorney -- were played in court, he said.

"She seemed older than her chronological age," he said. "Basically what we had was a troubled young girl."

He added, "I simply did not have the evidence to conclude that her taking her life was because of her sexual offense by Mr. Rambold."

The Montana Organization of Women started a petition calling on the judge to resign.

"It's outlandish in a way that I cannot describe," HLN's Drew Pinsky told CNN's "Erin Burnett OutFront." "It' is the most outlandish thing that I've ever heard of."

http://edition.cnn.com/2013/08/28/justice/montana-teacher-rape-sentence/index.html?sr=fb2813teacherrapemontana930a

Edited August 28, 2013 by Penny Lane

[Teddy B 17,251]

I wonder if this judge went on to explain how the female body shuts itself down in a legitimate rape? What a jackass.

[Penny Lane 8,159]

I wonder if this judge went on to explain how the female body shuts itself down in a legitimate rape? What a jackass.

Right? What a slap in the face to the mother. "Well, she SEEMED older!"

[Teddy B 17,251]

Right? What a slap in the face to the mother. "Well, she SEEMED older!"

And the 14 year old girl was just as much in control of the situation as the 49 year old teacher. This judge belongs behind bars.

[Penny Lane 8,159]

Just another example of why so many rapes or sexual assaults go unreported.

[Jacque67 7,328]

The judge is probably a pedophile himself.

Can pedophiles be treated- no.

[Teddy B 17,251]

The judge is probably a pedophile himself.

Can pedophiles be treated- no.

There is a cure for pedophilia, it's one of the few reasons I like guns.

Edited August 28, 2013 by Teddy B

[duraaraa 203]

We don't know all the facts of the relationship. If the teacher groomed her and used his position of authority and so on, sure, it's completely wrong, and I agree with the girl's mother.

*puts quarter into Devil's Advocate pinball machine*

To play devil's advocate, though, it's not entirely impossible that the girl wasn't interested in the teacher on a sexual level, and what drove her to suicide is the fact that this got out, and it caused her lover so much trouble. In other words, if a relationship between a 14 year old and a 40-some-odd year-old was as acceptable as one between a 16 (or 18 depending on the state) year old's would have been, perhaps this would not have resulted in her death.

14 year olds are not little kids (according to the judge, anyway, she seemed older than a normal 14 year old.) I think people usually have sexual desires at 14, if not younger. There are countries where the age of consent is as low as 12 (Japan) or 13 (Spain), and 14 is very, very common in developed countries for an age of consent (Austria, Estonia, Germany, Italy, etc.) I think it's a question of whether or not the relationship was consensual. Maybe the judge felt that it was?

Edited August 28, 2013 by duraaraa

[Penny Lane 8,159]

The man was 49 and in a position of authority over the 14 year old girl.

What you have said COULD be the exact kind of attitude that resulted in her choosing suicide. "Well, maybe you wanted it..."

Edited August 28, 2013 by Penny Lane

[GandD 5,966]

Yeah, its certainly taking advantage of your position. I dunno, lets say the girl was complicit in the act. Does that make this AS BAD as a traditional rape case? I don't think so. Bad, but not as bad.

[decocker 7,198]

14 year olds are not little kids (according to the judge, anyway, she seemed older than a normal 14 year old.) I think people usually have sexual desires at 14, if not younger. There are countries where the age of consent is as low as 12 (Japan) or 13 (Spain), and 14 is very, very common in developed countries for an age of consent (Austria, Estonia, Germany, Italy, etc.) I think it's a question of whether or not the relationship was consensual. Maybe the judge felt that it was?

14 year olds do not have the decision making capabilities of adults.

they do not fully understand sexual desire or know what to do with it.

it most certainly is not a question of if the relationship was consensual. teachers that get sexually involved with minor students are predators. end of story.

Yeah, its certainly taking advantage of your position. I dunno, lets say the girl was complicit in the act. Does that make this AS BAD as a traditional rape case? I don't think so. Bad, but not as bad.

in a teacher/student dynamic, i believe it's just as bad.

[Darnell 8,478]

The case was first in court some years ago.

I wonder if the laws were changed in Montana, after that first trial, to have harsher sentencing for that same type of crime?

In Texas - that fella would have faced all sorts of penalties, but I note the laws here have changed this century.

Yeah, its certainly taking advantage of your position. I dunno, lets say the girl was complicit in the act. Does that make this AS BAD as a traditional rape case? I don't think so. Bad, but not as bad.

Blech. She appeared complicit , IMO, because she was groomed , prior.

[Crashed~N2~Me 970]

Teacher needs '"treatment" = Seppuku.

Edited August 28, 2013 by Crashed~N2~Me

[duraaraa 203]

14 year olds do not have the decision making capabilities of adults.

they do not fully understand sexual desire or know what to do with it.

it most certainly is not a question of if the relationship was consensual. teachers that get sexually involved with minor students are predators. end of story.

in a teacher/student dynamic, i believe it's just as bad.

But teachers who get involved with 18 year old students or college students aren't? It's not like 18 year olds magically gain the critical thinking and decision making ability of an adult.

As the wide variety of ages of consent around the world (of even the country) show you, you can't draw the line at a certain age, at all. It needs to be determined completely on a case-by-case basis, whether consent was able to be given.

Edited August 28, 2013 by duraaraa

[GandD 5,966]

14 year olds do not have the decision making capabilities of adults.

they do not fully understand sexual desire or know what to do with it.

it most certainly is not a question of if the relationship was consensual. teachers that get sexually involved with minor students are predators. end of story.

in a teacher/student dynamic, i believe it's just as bad.

I don't disagree. Just talking hypotheticals. Like I said, it's bad. I just don't see it as being as bad as a violent/brutal rape.