Hundreds protest 1- month sentence for rape of girl, 14

Hundreds of demonstrators gathered Thursday outside the offices of a Montana judge to protest a one- month sentence he gave an ex- teacher convicted of raping a 14- yearold student who later killed herself and the judge’s remarks suggesting the victim was partly at fault.

District Judge G.

Todd Baugh has come under harsh criticism since sentencing former Billings high school teacher Stacey Rambold on Monday to 15 years in prison, then suspending all but 31 days of that term, for the 2007 rape of Cherice Moralez. Rambold, 54, also received credit for one day served.

Before handing downthe sentence, Baugh said that Moralez, who committed suicide in 2010, was “prob- ably as much in control of the situation” as Rambold and that the teen seemed older than her age.

The judge, who apologized for his remarks Wednesday, made an appearance at the protest but did not speak, said Marian Bradley, president of the Montana chapter of the National Organization for Womenand co- organizer of the rally.

Auliea Hanlon, the dead girl’s mother, also attended the rally, which organizers said drew 500- 700 people.

Kate Olp, co- organizer of the Billings protest, said Baugh’s comments may lead victims of sexual assault to avoid reporting it for fear of mistreatment by the legal system.

“He took the responsibility off the shoulders of an adult and placed it on the fragile shoulders of a child,” she said.

In sentencing Rambold, Baugh ignored a recommendation by prosecutors for a 20- year term with half of it suspended. At the time of the rape, Moralez was a student in a technology class taught by Rambold at Billings Senior High School.

Rambold pleaded guilty in April to sexual intercourse without consent.