New York judge faces backlash after sparing prison for rapist of 14-year-old
A judge in upstate New York who sparked outrage after declining to incarcerate a former school bus driver who raped a 14-year-old girl is facing growing calls to be disciplined.
Judge James McClusky of Jefferson county supreme court sentenced Shane Piche to 10 years probation last Thursday after the 25-yearold pleaded guilty to third-degree rape. Piche has also been ordered to pay fees of $1,425 and register as a level one sex offender, the lowest of three categories based on the risk of reoffending.
According to prosecutors, Piche met the teenage girl on the job as a school bus driver and “maintained communication” with her on social media. Eventually, he lured the girl to his home outside Watertown in New York state, and plied her with alcohol before raping her.
Prosecutors had originally asked for a sentence that included up to six months jail time and probation. In an interview with the Associated Press the Jefferson county chief assistant district attorney, Patricia Dziuba, declined to criticise the sentencing.
Since Judge McClusky handed down his sentencing last Thursday the case has received significant attention in the national press. A county court official told the Associated Press on Tuesday: “The judge’s chambers have received numerous vitriolic calls regarding the case, the vast majority from out of state, by individuals who know nothing about the facts and circumstances of the case, thanks to social media.”
A petition calling for Judge McClusky to be removed from the bench has received almost 50,000 signatures. Organizers will submit the signatures to New York’s commission of judicial conduct, a panel with the power to discipline judges in the state.
Piche’s attorney, Eric Swartz, said in an interview with local news that his client “cannot be alone with anyone under the age of 17, with the exception of friends and relatives as reported and agreed by the probation department”.
“He’ll be a felon for the rest of his life,” Swartz said. “He’s on the sex offender registry for a long time. Maybe not the rest of his life because of the level, but this isn’t something that didn’t cause him pain, and this isn’t something that didn’t have consequences.”
Local outlets reported a statement from the teenage victim’s mother, which was not read in court but provided to reporters by the victim’s mother.
It states: “I wish Shane Piche would have received time in jail for the harm he caused to my child. He took something from my daughter she will never get back and has caused her to struggle with depression and anxiety.”