A Montana Judge’s ethics are being questioned after a rape crime was handed down a sentence of only one month.
As previously reported by The Inquisitr , the Lostprophets singer Ian Watkins was found guilty of raping a baby and his former band mates are angry and disgusted .
According to Montana Judge G. Todd Baugh, 47-year-old teacher Stacey Dean Rambold was given “the right kind of sentence” for having sexual relations with Cherise Morales in the fall of 2007. The rape victim was 14 and a student in one of Rambold’s classes at Billings Senior High in Montana. Morales told a church group leader about the rape and Rambold was charged in 2008 with three counts of sexual intercourse without consent.
The National Organization for Women filed a complaint, contending Baugh violated legal, ethical and conduct rules for jurists. NOW also argued he showed gender and racial bias against the victim, who was Hispanic. But the judge says his sentence was “fair, imposed impartially and without bias or prejudice.”
But people were also wondering about the Montana Judge’s ethics after he made controversial remarks about the rape victim. Baugh claimed Morales was “probably as much in control of the situation as was the defendant” and apparently the girl’s physical appearance played a factor in the judge’s decision. Supposedly because Morales had the physical appearance of a grown woman she was deemed partially responsible for any part she played in the rape. To make matters worse, Morales committed suicide in February of 2010.
Although the Montana Judge says he’s sorry for making those particular remarks , he still defends his decision as being fair:
“I am sorry I made those remarks. They focused on the victim when that aspect of the case should have been focused on the defendant. The defendant’s last legal or moral transgression was the crime he committed and admitted. In the ensuing almost six years, he had legally and morally good conduct, he was reinstated in sex offender treatment and the undisputed evidence supported community placement and treatment.”
But state judicial ethics panel told Baugh he would be recommended for censure in a complaint to the Montana Supreme Court.
Do you agree that the Montana Judge’s ethics should be questioned on the basis of giving a rape crime only a month long sentence?