A judge in upstate New York has sparked national outrage with a probation-only sentence for a school bus driver who admitted to raping a 14-year-old girl. But a state court spokesman says the judge was "well within" the sentencing range for a negotiated plea conviction for third-degree rape, which in New York means the victim can't consent to sex because they are under the age of 17.
Jefferson County Supreme Court Judge James McClusky last week sentenced 26-year-old Shane Piche to 10 years of sex offender probation after Piche pleaded guilty to raping the victim at his Watertown home in June. Piche has since been fired from his job driving a bus in the victim's school district, according to his defense attorney.
Sentencing guidelines for a class E felony such as third-degree rape call for anywhere from five years of probation to 1-1/3 to 4 years in prison, New York courts spokesman Lucian Chalfen said.
The lack of jail time for Piche was harshly criticized on social media as being too lenient, with critics blasting McClusky for imposing a sentence they said didn't fit the severity of the crime. An online petition calling for McClusky's removal has amassed more than 50,000 signatures.
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No problem, castration option
ReplyDeleteSomebody will beat the snot out of him sometime soon.... or later. He should be looking over his shoulder for a few years.
ReplyDelete