30 Days for RAPE?

See this man? This is District Judge G. Todd Baugh of Montana. He just sentenced a former teacher to 31 days in jail for raping a 14-year old student, getting credit for one day served.

When he sentenced this rapist, he said that the victim appeared "older than her chronological age" and has as much control over the situation as the man.

I am going to pause here to let that sink in.

That should be long enough.

Is it just me, or did this "judge" just say that the girl looked older, so it was her fault? He may as well have said, "Did you see her? She was hot! I would have doinked her, too."

That girl is going to need some serious counseling. Oh, wait. She committed suicide after the rape, while the case was pending.

Yellowstone County attorney Scott Twito previously said he disagreed with the judge's ruling but would not appeal it. "The judge's reasons are his reasons and his reasons alone. He has broad authority under state law, given the proper criteria," Twito said Tuesday. Twito said Wednesday that his office will review the sentence. However, his office reviews ALL sentences, as a matter of course. That means nothing.

To make things even more disgusting: Although Rambold was ordered to complete a sex-offender treatment program to have charges dismissed in 2008 after pleading guilty to rape, he was terminated from the program for missing meetings. Judge Baugh said the ex-teacher's termination from the program did not warrant a lengthy imprisonment. Why did he "miss meetings"? Prosecutors learned the rapist, 54, was kicked out of the program for having unsupervised visits with minors who were family members and not telling counselors he was having a sexual relationship with a woman.

On a side note, a man in Wyoming was sentenced 151 months (that's over 12 years) for wind farm fraud.

Needless to say, District Judge G. Todd Baugh of Montana has got to go. Call his office at (406) 256-2922 and tell him that it's time to step down. Or email his assistant (who will probably delete your email) at mconsidine@mt.gov.