Comments

1
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2
Who judges the judges? (Serious question.)
3
Any teenager caught with a beer can now claim "older than my chronological age" as a defense now, right?

4
Good grief, looking at the other stories on that site, Billlings is horrific place
5
That judge have a daughter?
6
The girl's mother will probably recieve 30 days in jail and a $2,000 fine for yelling in a courtroom.

7
THE FUCK.

BURN EVERYTHING.
8
The Heartland is the "real America".
9
Also there's this, regarding his termination from his treatment program for violating some of the program's terms: "The violations were serious enough when taken together to kick Rambold out of the program, although it was learned that the minors Rambold was visiting were family members."

OH, WELL, if some of them were family members, that obviously deserves that little "although" exception. Because sexual predators NEEEVVVVER prey on family members. That's a thing that doesn't happen at all. Bring on the teenaged family members, because this guy is safe!
10
"You people suck!" is a pretty good summary.
11
This is yet another example of rape culture. FFS, saying that the victim was "older than her chronological age" is almost something out of The Daily Mail.
12
Jesus fuck.
13
Everyone can see it was the 14 year old's fault. She seduced the teacher with her older than her chronological age feminine ways and he was powerless to stop it. And the fact that she killed herself out of guilt proves she deserved it. Hopefully the teacher will overcome the stigma of letting himself be tricked into raping adolescent who was asking for it.
14
Depending on how many and what kind of people the mother knows, and how well-liked her daughter was, I think that justice may be waiting for this guy. Patiently. In a dark alley or in a bush at night on his way home from work.

If anything like this happened to my daughter, all I'm saying is, I wouldn't be able to start 'getting past it' until something profoundly unpleasant happened to this guy. I ain't sayin', I'm just sayin'.
15
Sounds like the judge felt that the poor man had suffered enough, with his reputation in ruins, etc., etc. Even after he'd been warned in 2004 not to touch or be alone with female students, those young hussies kept forcing him to be in compromising positions.
16
for sexual intercourse without consent

Does that mean that it would have been legal had the parents acknowledged the relationship and consented?

(Age of consent in MT. 16. And there are no allowances for close-in-age relationships.)
17

#14

What you're "just saying" is that you've make a threat of physical violence in public on the Internet and thus you have made yourself liable to investigation and enforcement.
18
Who judges the judges? (Serious question.)

Voters, often. Therein lies the problem.
19
If she were my daughter, I'd know how to take care of the problem.
20
The bar in Montana needs to remove him from the bench. He is clearly incompetent. Someones age is not a matter of debate when it is verified by the birth certificates. You cannot simply state that someone was older than they are... it is ludicrous.

Though more troubling is the idiot is running for re-election and is unopposed.
21
Really? First thing in the morning? Never too early to have my day ruined I guess.
23
Finally, someone realizes that the skeezy rapist teacher is the REAL victim here!
24
Yeah, and Humbert Humbert was just a hopeless romantic...What kind of bullshit is it?
25
@17 why are you defending a child rapist?
26
"The girls death caused problems for the prosecution..." Oh, did it?

The school warned him in 2005 to not touch or be alone with female students. And he was still working as a teacher? What the hell kind of school system is this?

He violated his court ordered sex offender rehab three ways - wasn't showing up for meetings, was in contact with minors and was having sex with a woman. Who was sleeping with this guy?!?

He doesn't consider his behavior a problem and the court thinks he's at low risk to reoffend. Really? He seems to be taking the law so seriously. Must be afraid of those terrible legal consequences to his actions or something. Ye gods Montana.

What do you wanna bet there might have been a bit harsher sentence if his victim's last name wasn't Morales?
27
@25,

Because he can't get laid; therefore, he projects his hostility on women.

/seriously.
28
29

Wow.

Lots of violence and psychopathy on this thread.

You all sound like Sons of Zimmerman.
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@28: And you sound like a blithering idiot.
I'm neurotic, not psychotic, but I would deeply enjoy slitting Mr. Rambold's miserable throat.
31
If the state doesn't appeal this, shenanigans. Regardless of the crime, dude broke his plea agreement. Considering the crime and his behavior under the plea agreement, he shouldn't be seeing the light of day for decades.

My other thought reading the repulsive comments from the judge: if the teacher had assaulted an underage boy, there would have been a different ruling. The gender of either party should not matter, but it always seems to be part of the decision in sexual crimes.

32
Is Kaitlyn Hunt headed to jail?
A Florida judge will decide the gay Florida teen’s fate Tuesday after prosecutors pulled her plea deal when they discovered she’d exchanged about 20,000 text messages with the underage teen girl at the center of the case against her.
Prosecutors filed a new charge against Hunt, accusing her of “transmission of material harmful to minor by electronic equipment.” In a court filing, the state said it violates Florida law for her to have sent the “harmful” texts to a minor.
Their relationship began when Hunt was 18 and the girl was 14. The girl’s family said the relationship was sexual. Hunt’s family has said the relationship was consensual, but under Florida law, a 14-year-old can’t give consent.
Hunt, who turned 19 last week, was charged with two felony counts of lewd and lascivious battery.
Deal nixed
Prosecutors had offered Hunt a deal: Plead guilty to one felony that could later be removed from her record and two misdemeanors in exchange for community service — with no jail time and no mandatory ankle bracelet.
Now, prosecutors want her bond revoked after the discovery of the texts. They say Hunt violated a February court order to not contact the girl. There will be a hearing at 1 p.m. Tuesday in an Indian River County court.
Hunt had been free on bail while awaiting trial. She was booked into detention Monday night after her bail bond company declined to secure the $5,000 bond any longer and picked her up. Hunt can go free if her family or another bail bond company comes up with the money.
In court documents, prosecutors say Hunt gave the girl an iPod in February that was used to receive and send about 20,000 text messages between the two.
Prosecutors also said 25 photographs were also sent, and secret meetings took place between the two.
“These photographs are explicit and depict the defendant nude,” the documents state.
Prosecutors also included examples of texts they say Hunt sent to the girl, including: “(N)o matter what if they find out we talked I’m going to jail until trial starts.”
The state also said the girl told a detective that Hunt would drive her to “a remote location where they would have intimate physical contact.” The court papers claim that the most recent meeting took place two weeks ago.
33
@32: 49-year-old teacher engages in relationship with troubled 14-year-old girl, keeps his job for five years while case is investigated, she commits suicide, he skips out on his counseling and doesn't avoid minors. Punishment? 30 days in prison.
17-year-old student athlete engages in relationship (consensual, according to both sides) with 14-year-old student athlete, parents of latter disapprove, girls secretly continue their relationship. Punishment? Expelled from school, facing felony charges, already served more time than the above was sentenced to.

So tell me. Do you agree that the punishments fit the crime(s)?
34
Just to point out: This is a consequence of our justice system, which is designed to heavily favor the defendant. The prosecution needs to prove Rambold's guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. Under the Confrontation Clause of the 6th Amendment, a defendant has a right to confront-- and more importantly, cross-examine-- any witness against him. Since the girl is dead and cannot be confronted, any statements from her are, in all likelihood, inadmissible. (AFAIK suicide three years later would not trigger one of the Confrontation Clause exemptions.) Which makes it very difficult for the prosecution to prove its case.

Yes Rambold is scum, and yes he deserves to go to jail for a long time. But as a society, we've decided that it's better that ten guilty men go free than that one innocent man go to jail. Rambold is one of those lucky ten.
35
@29 That you see a violent response to violence as psychopathy shows that you clearly do not see rape and a resulting suicide as inherently violent acts, which suggests the psychopathy is yours, not ours.
36
25, wow, you still read him? registered users to skip: sgt doom, supreme et al, misanthrope
37

While the case was pending, and a few weeks before her 17th birthday, Morales took her own life.

The girl's death caused problems for the prosecution, and in July 2010 Rambold entered into a deferred prosecution agreement with the Yellowstone County Attorney's Office.


What possible problems?

Seems like if they already had evidence there should be no problems and it would be case closed.

38
@34: Her statements can't be admitted, unless she was previously cross-examined, but the statements of people close to her can, and Rambold confessed to the relationship.
NOT TO MENTION: Rambold pled guilty.
39
@33,

Kaitlyn Hunt was going to get a pretty decent deal under a plea agreement wherein she wouldn't have to register as a sex offender, but she wouldn't stop contacting the other girl (and much of that contact involved guilt tripping and threatening the girl to stay quiet). Now the hammer is coming down. Sucks to be her.
40
@34, 1) the guy pled guilty so there was no need for the prosecution to prove their case; 2) there's no confrontation issue when the victim is dead (ever heard of a murder trial? you're confusing hearsay rules with confrontation rights); 3) the aphorism you cite about letting the guilty go free refers to the reasonable doubt standard, not to someone who admits wrongdoing. Way to defend the proliferation of rape culture with fake facts and fake law.
41
@38: The statements of people close to her regarding what they themselves observed would be admissible, but that would just establish effect without cause. The statements of people close to her regarding that she said about the rape would be pretty useful, but would also be classic hearsay and thus inadmissible.

As to Rambold pleading guilty: I doubt he did that out of the goodness of his heart. He almost certainly did so pursuant to a plea agreement, which got him the sweet "31 days in jail" deal.
42
@40: (1) The guy plead pursuant to a plea deal. Can't use that guilty plea and try to get a larger sentence than what you offered. (Well, you could try, but that would basically end your legal career.)

(2): Confrontation Clause applies even in a murder trial! There are some exceptions (e.g., the famous "dying declaration"), but those don't apply here.

(3): The aphorism is pervasive throughout the justice system, not just the standard of proof.

BTW: Your inability to analyze the facts from a procedural standpoint suggests that you are not a lawyer. I suggest you do not argue law with someone who is.
43
@42,

Are you fucking kidding me? Did you actually read the article?

Chief Deputy County Attorney Rod Souza had asked the judge to order Rambold to serve 20 years in prison, with 10 years suspended.


It was solely the judge's decision to give that motherfucker 30 days in jail.
44
@43: I assumed that was the opening salvo, when the prosecution asks for a severe sentence as leverage for the plea negotiations.

Reading through the article again, it's not clear to me whether there was a plea agreement or not. I don't see any mention of a trial, so it would bizarre if they were at the sentencing phase already without an agreement. I can't imagine any defendant pleading guilty without a deal, but then again the Fort Hood guy proved me wrong earlier this month. :)
45
@44,

The original plea agreement was that Rambold was going to get a sweetheart deal wherein he would mainly just need to get sex offender counseling. But he didn't so much as try to hold to that agreement, so that's when the prosecution hauled him in to court to send him to real prison. It was the judge's decision to suspend everything except 30 days in jail despite the fact that he's an unrepentant sex offender who refused to actually go through with his court-mandated counseling or to stay away from minors.

The 30-day "sentence" was the judge's call. Full stop.
46
I didn't even look at the details of the case, but I'm immediately reminded of Crawford v Washington (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crawford_v.…).

Essentially, don't talk about liberty and due process on one hand and decry the results with the other. That's some Fox News bullshit.
47
@45: Again, that's not clear from the article. But even under those facts, I can see a judge deciding that a guy who plead guilty pursuant to an extremely sweet deal shouldn't find himself in jail for 10 years as a result of that plea. Put another way, the "anchoring point" in sentencing was the original deal, not what Rambold stands accused of.

The statements about "old for 14" are troubling, though.
48
#44, 45 47

Yes, but it goes back to my original questions.

The case seems dependent on having the victim as a witness.

As you state, him pleading guilty initially and getting a bargain which he then violated sent him back to square one. However, his admission of guilt could not be used against him.

That means they had to go back to the victim. So, the victim was the only testimony against him that had relevance meaning there was no evidence of intercourse.

And even if he pleaded guilty, if it was to get a plea bargain, you can't say for sure if he was guilty or just seeing a situation where he could not get justice and decided to take the easier way out!

The statements about "old for 14" are completely irrelevant! All that had to be established was some kind of contact. What is more -- this guy was her teacher, and there are laws that make the consent laws go out the window when the person is in a position of power over the minor.

And the last unresolved issue is -- can "consent" be given by parents when the person is under the age of consent, in Montana. And if so, did the parent give consent? Or is that the sticking point for a clear case of guilt!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marriageabl…
49
HELLO, WORLD. THIS IS RAPE CULTURE. Where all the sympathy is reserved for the rapist, and the victim's whole fucking life is worth less that some rapist's home, marriage, and job. Sweet fucking jesus our world is fucked beyond all possible redemption.
50

#49

Rape Culture is when a bunch of Marxist Feminists make all Men guilty -- all the time and without proof.

Rape culture is when all heterosexual sex is recast as rape to increase the power and reach of the centralized state.

Whether it's this case, or Miley Cyrus twerking on Robin Thicke's 38 year old foam finger, the apparatchiks of the socialst state come out en masse to tongue lash and jail.

They've made their decision before the case is heard or tried. It happens every day. All day long. In SLOG.
51
@50: I'll paraphrase what I said to Siddha oh so long ago: Paranoia around a woman's agency/opinion leading to faceless yet debauched communism is such a Cold War-era fantasy. Keep your batshit current, man. And keep the MRA bullshit out of it too, it's just baseless self-pity meeting a false sense of victimhood.
52
I am so upset, I started a petition

Please sign so we can get this man off the bench!!

http://www.change.org/petitions/federal-…
53
#50 So the Marxists are out to get guys like you huh. All ten of them. I met a guy once who said the same thing about the CIA and Pope.
54
Getting Judge Baugh off the bench would be a good start.....
55
@50 time to take your meds dude.
56
@50
"Rape Culture is when a bunch of Marxist Feminists......"

Hahahahahahahahaah.....aaahhhh....Haaaaaaaaahahahahaha......Omg wow...you are SUCH a fuckin comedian! Where do you find this great material?!? Please, no more, you are making my sides hurt from the laughter.
57
Was the girl wearing a hoodie and carrying Skittles?

Was he blackmailing the judge? Oh God, is this a case where the judge did something similar himself once and now has to act like it's okay because otherwise he'd have to admit to himself that it isn't?
58
#14 I have to agree with you. Profoundly unpleasant things happen to bad people, and then they disappear.
59
@ 45 & 47

Your exchange is exactly why I'm not entirely comfortable with the outrage directed toward the judge (I am completely comfortable with the outrage directed toward the rapist). A deferral agreement means that the rapist had admitted the charge, but, as long as he complied with the agreement's conditions, the charges would be dismissed. No conviction, no imprisonment, no probation.

The judge was given a chance to sentence the rapist because he missed meetings, had an apparently consensual sexual relationship with an apparently adult woman, and spent time with minors (who were evidently relatives, for whatever that's worth. It's more important to me that he hasn't been accused of doing anything abusive).

So it all depends on whether the judge believes that he is sentencing the guy for the rape of a young girl, or sentencing him for missing some meetings, having a relationship and being around kids. I'm guessing (hoping?) he thought of it as the latter, his bizarre and troubling "older-than-her-chronological-age" comment notwithstanding. Which is not to say that that was the right frame of mind here. But, as wrongheaded as it might be (and it would certainly seem to have been an opportunity to correct the injustice potentially caused by the poor girl's death), I can't help but sympathize with the judge to some degree.

"Here judge, this guy missed some meetings, and he has a girlfriend, and he spent time with some kids. If he hadn't done that stuff, we were fine with him never being convicted or serving any time. But you throw him in prison for ten years." I can see that being a tough pill to swallow.

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