Judge under fire for rape sentence, implying victim was promiscuous

[derby378]

She could have sentenced him to 20 years in prison after he admitted to raping a 14-year-old girl in her high school.

Instead, a Texas judge gave the defendant a 45-day sentence and five years of probation after implying that the victim was promiscuous.

Judge Jeanine Howard told The Dallas Morning News that she based the sentence, in part, on medical records indicating that the girl had had three sexual partners and had given birth.

She told the newspaper that the victim "wasn't the victim she claimed to be" and said the defendant, 20-year-old Sir Young, "is not your typical sex offender."

http://www.cnn.com/2014/05/05/justice/texas-rape-sentence/

[Harmony Blue]

1. Community service at

a center for survivors and victims of rape for a convicted rapist? What is wrong with this judge.

[derby378]

2. What's worse is that Judge Howard is a DEMOCRAT...

...who should have been fully informed and educated on how stupid actions like hers are.

[Liberal In Texas]

22. Not sure about her, but a lot of judges changed parties in Dallas County

around 2008 because the voters cleaned house with repubs. This is a blue county and several judges saw which way the wind was blowing and switched party affiliations to get elected or re-elected.

[derby378]

24. Howard ran back in 2006 as a Dem

I know the type of person you're referring to, though. Susan Hawk was a Republican judge in Dallas County who ran as a Dem in either 2008 or 2010 against a solid Dem - and won. This year, however, she's running in the Republican primary again, and I say good riddance.

[LisaL]

11. Exactly.

Does she think victims would want to be around him?

[herding cats]

17. Needless to say, the rape crisis center does not want him there.

This was such a stupid, insensitive and flat out wrong decision by the judge.

[LisaL]

19. Of course the center does not want him there.

It's against their policy to have a convicted rapist there.

[herding cats]

21. Which makes sense.

It goes against the entire concept of what they're there to do.

[geek tragedy]

3. there are a lot of female misogynists. rape culture can't live

on the support of men alone

[derby378]

4. I'm not sold on this whole "rape culture" craze...

...but there are still too many people out there who look back with fondness to the time when women were considered second-class citizens who couldn't be trusted with money or votes.

[TorchTheWitch]

5. I'm confused about what happens now that the judge

has recused herself. Is the sentence vacated and he's resentenced by a new judge or what?

This judge needs to be disciplined like that other judge was in a similar case.

[derby378]

6. I think the sentence stands no matter what - double jeopardy would apply

But now that the judge has recused herself, she's free to say that the victim was asking for it, so to speak.

[LisaL]

15. Double jeopardy applies to the verdict, not to the sentence.

[herding cats]

20. The hope is the new judge will review the conditions of Young's probation

Hopefully tightening some of the restrictions in the process. Which does nothing to ease the effect of the judge laying part of the blame at the feet of the 14 year old victim.

Judgments like this keep rape victims from coming forward.

[gollygee]

7. Those previous "sexual partners" and the birth

could all have been rapes and the result of rape given her age. "She's been raped a lot in the past so it's OK to rape her now" is how this reads to me.

[bettyellen]

8. And sadly many agree with this "damaged goods" theory....

A relative described a party he went to where one young woman "pulled a train"
This consisted of her getting really drunk and proceeding to have sex - in a private bed room- with a guy she was seeing.
By prior arrangement, his friends busted in and took turns, while her one friend was kept busy downstairs.
My cousin shared their rationale- she was already a stupid slut in their minds who had already degraded herself by dating their friend. If she fucked him, she might as well fuck em all, because they were better guys. Yeah, he told this story at a family gathering, and believed it was a great story and none of them were rapists. He claimed he didn't participate, but that might have been because his audience was a bit more disgusted and shocked than he anticipated. Apparently he'd told the story and gotten a better reaction elsewhere.

[Coventina]

10. It's all part of hymen-worship. The implication is that once a women

busts her hymen outside of marriage, she has given prior consent to have sex with ANYONE.

The patriarchy still is very strong in some ways.

[bettyellen]

18. Yeah, I think my cousins social life was a real eye opener for me....

He was literally a disgusting human being who would do or say anything to manipulate a woman. And it made him pretty popular. But sometimes, even his good friends were kind of disgusted. Not enough to speak up, or ditch him though. He managed to be a craven fiend and still keep a nice social circle for himself. But his family is a bunch of alcoholics sociopaths, so he fits right in.

[LisaL]

13. Since she was only 14, it would have to be illegal.

She is below the age of consent in TX. There is Romeo and Juliet exception if the difference is less than 3 years of age (but that is an affirmative defense).

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

9. What part of "force", "child", "non-consensual" and "violence" does the judge not understand?

[Coventina]

12. See my post #10 above.

If she voluntarily busted her hymen on someone else, it's open season!

[joeybee12]

14. And she sentenced him to community service at a rape crisis center!

What the fuck is wrong with this idiot?????

[LisaL]

16. Amd if suspect was convicted of pedophilia, would she send him to a day care?

Rape crisis center doesn't want him to serve his community service there.

"It would be inappropriate to have a convicted rapist at a center that focuses on survivors, she said."

http://www.cnn.com/2014/05/05/justice/texas-rape-sentence/

[joeybee12]

23. I bet she would...

How this clueless so-and-so ever got to be a judge...I mean, aren't there some standards for intelligence? Oh wait, Clarenec Thomas...never mind.