Judge scorned for punishment in incest case

60-day sentence for man who raped daughter decried

A judge who sentenced a Montana man to 60 days in jail for incest with his 12-year-old daughter is facing a firestorm of criticism and an impeachment effort by those who view the sentence as far too light.

The state had recommended the 40-year-old father of three serve a 100year prison sentence with 75 years suspended — in effect, 25 years — and the dismissal of two other incest charges as part of a plea deal.

“A father repeatedly raped his 12-year-old daughter,” the Valley County deputy attorney, Dylan Jensen, said during the sentencing hearing on Oct. 4, according to reports.

But in handing down his sentence, Judge John C. McKeon of Valley County District Court noted that lawyers for the defendant could argue for a lesssevere punishment if an evaluator recommended treatment in a local community.

Weighing the evaluation and several other factors, McKeon imposed a 30-year sentence, all of it suspended so long as the man met certain terms. The defendant also must register as a sex offender.

“The sentence may not be a popular decision by certain members of the general public, but it is a just and proper decision,” McKeon wrote.

To critics, however, the decision represented a breakdown in the system.

“The victim only had the justice system on her side, and it failed her,” the organizer of a petition calling for the judge’s removal wrote. “Judge McKeon failed her. She deserves justice, and together we can help be her voice.”

Since being posted a week ago, the Change.org petition to impeach McKeon had attracted more than 55,000 supporters by Thursday afternoon.

More than 1.3 million people have signed a petition to impeach a judge similarly accused of handing down a light sentence in the case of Brock Turner, a former Stanford University swimmer convicted of sexual assault of an unconscious woman behind a dumpster.

“It is time to start punishing the judges who let these monsters walk our streets,” Justice4Montana, the group seeking McKeon’s impeachment, wrote in the petition.

In Montana, the Legislature or Supreme Court ultimately holds the power to remove judges, according to the National Center for State Courts.

Under the deal with the state, the Montana man pleaded guilty to a single felony count of incest. The defendant’s lawyer argued for 25 years of communitybased supervision, McKeon wrote.

In handing down the sentence on Oct. 4, McKeon cited a report prepared by Michael D. Sullivan, a specialist who had performed more than 2,000 evaluations over a nearly 30-year career.

Whatever the results of the petition effort, McKeon will be leaving his job fairly soon: After 22 years on the bench, he planned to retire on Nov. 30, according to the Billings Gazette.