There was a massive public reaction when a Montana man convicted of raping a 14 year old girl who committed suicide in the wake of the incident was given a sentence of 31 days with the judge placing blame of the victim.
Rapist first sentenced to 31 days gets 10 years in prison
A man who raped a 14-year-old girl in Montana and was initially given a month in jail for the crime was resentenced Friday to 10 years in prison.
The entire sentence for Stacey Dean Rambold, 55, was 15 years, but District Judge Randal Spaulding suspended five years.
Rambold’s first sentence -- 31 days -- made national headlines last year when the judge who handed down that order said the teen victim was partially responsible for her rape.
Judge G. Todd Baugh said that after reviewing statements made by the girl before she committed suicide, he concluded that she was “a troubled youth” and "older than her chronological age." He then added that he thought the girl had been "as much in control of the situation" as Rambold.
The Montana Supreme Court publicly reprimanded Baugh for his conduct in the case and said he had “eroded public confidence in the judiciary and created an appearance of impropriety,” according to court filings. The judge was suspended for 31 days.
This is the kind of institutional change that has to happen if the pervasive rape culture is ever going to be dismantled.