15-year-old raped in court: Rapist gets probation, teen gets 12 months

[redirish28]

In 2005, 15-year-old Ashley was facing trial in Manhattan Family Court for lying to police after she told officers she didn't know who had assaulted her on the way to school.

As she waited in the court's holding area for her court appearance, juvenile counselor Tony "Tyson" Simmons came up to the handcuffed girl, took her in an elevator to the building's basement, and raped her.

Moments later, Ashley -- who's withholding her last name for fear of reprisal -- was in the courtroom being sentenced to 12 months in prison for filing a false police report. This week, Simmons was sentenced to 10 years' probation for the sexual assault on Ashley and two other teens.

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2010/10/teen-raped-court-rapist-probation/
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

This is just sick.

[derby378]

1. I think I need to be sad now...

:cry:

[truedelphi]

2. Personally I hope Ashley's parents have some tough guy friends.

And that they know where Simmons lives.

Our nation's court system is in such a corrupt state that I really do not see much justice occurring there.

[LisaL]

48. She is an orphan according to the link provided in the article.

[Jester Messiah]

53. Hmmm... maybe slip it to 4chan?

They're good at making lives hell.

[Autumn Colors]

58. +1 (my thoughts exactly) n/t

[redirish28]

3. I don't kow what's to be more sick about the guy who gets probation

or the poor girl being put in jail because she couldn't idenitify her attacker.

[ThomCat]

19. I know. both of those are just incredibly assinine and unjust rulings

on the face of it.

The Judge(s) should be removed from the bench and replaced by someone with some humane empathy and compassion as soon as possible. :cry:

I'm so damned sick of teens getting devastated and destroyed by our courts, and the crimes of rape sexual assault being treated as trivial matters. x(

That "youth counselor" is out there free, and this girl is in jail for the next year, when she didn't do anything wrong. She was the victim of an assault and then a rape, and neither of her attackers is in jail, but she is because she didn't want to name the first attacker for some reason.

The criminal gets to plead the 5th, say nothing and walk free in any case, but the victim goes to jail for not wanting to admit knowing who an attacker is. What The Fuck! That is UnJust Any Possible Way You Look At It!

:wtf:

[BlancheSplanchnik]

73. I'll just have to ditto what you said

because I'm too angry, nauseated, heartbroken to be coherent.

I'm really sick, too, of crimes against women being treated like a cheap turn on.

[1monster]

80. And let's not forget the prosecutors and police for piling up as many charges as possible so they

get something to stick and charge them as adults too.

[txlibdem]

72. Did anybody check to see if the judge had financial dealings with the detention center

Remember that sickening series of incarcerations of teens?

[Xipe Totec]

4. This is insanity

Both judges should be impeached.

[ThomCat]

20. And then, are we too civilized to tar and feather them too?

:nuke: :grr:

Any justice system that puts the VICTIM of two assaults in jail while HER RAPIST gets probation doesn't provide anything that even resembles justice. This is just corruption. :(

[yurbud]

5. I wonder if the judge is getting kickbacks from one of those private kiddy prisons.

[Iris]

9. It does make one wonder. n/t

[ThomCat]

23. How much do you want to bet that he is.

Far too many kids are getting sent to prison, and 1 year is far too long for something so trivial, for the judge to not be getting some kind of "incentive."

:grr:

I wish there was some kind of organization routinely investigating these matters to keep judges honest. But unfortunately, big money is now infesting the judicial system, and judges are free to take it and usually there is nobody looking over their shoulder to see it or care. :(

What do they care of the lives of these kids when there is money to be made? Money is obviously so much more important! :cry:

[yurbud]

74. when judges get caught, they shouldn't get probation or club fed, but actual ass rape prison time

even one night would probably be enough if they weren't in protective custody.

[ohheckyeah]

28. That was going to be my question.

Who owns the juvenile facility where she will be incarcerated?

[uponit7771]

36. Wouldn't shock me

[AlabamaLibrul]

77. Anyone happen to remember that documentary, I think it was on CNN(?) a while back

about the private, corrupt, for-profit youth prison industry?

It'd be a good one for the stock response / link folder.

[athenasatanjesus]

6. Is not being able to identify the attacker all it takes...

..to be charged with filing a false police report?

[BrklynLiberal]

7. ACLU? Where are you???????????

[Hello_Kitty]

30. ACLU? Too busy defending corporate "free speech". eom

[loudsue]

57. WTF???? Is that true, kitty?

I hadn't heard about that. They can't be doing that! Can they?

[Hello_Kitty]

59. They sided with the plaintiff in Citizens United.

They think corporations are people and should be able to spend as much as they want to influence elections.

The ACLU will never get another dime from me.

[loudsue]

60. I won't be sending any more money, either. BASTARDS!!!

What in the hell are they thinking???

[uberllama42]

70. There was a big controversy within the organization

during the Citizens United case. The majority seemed to think it was their obligation to defend any civil liberties claim by any party, regardless of whether the claim is valid or not. I think they have an obligation to defend someone with a valid claim, regardless of how despicable that person is otherwise. But the claim made about corporations having the right to free speech was completely bogus in that case. They should have dropped it like a bad habit.

[Odin2005]

8. I think I'm gonna me sick!

:cry: :grr:

[rocktivity]

10. PROBATION for what was NOT a first offense?

:argh:
rocktivity

[seabeyond]

15. actually, probation? for rape. and two others? three rapes? and he gets probation

i dont know definition of sexual assault, but the clearly said she was raped. i thought rape was jail time...

granted, not much. and generally isnt prosecuted.

[Angry Dragon]

11. The French used to say

"Off with his heads"!!

[daleanime]

52. Works for me....

:grr:

[flvegan]

12. Gotta be fucking kidding me.

I have now officially seen everything.

[NotThisTime]

13. Are they trying to say she DID know her attacker and are punishing her for that? Meanwhile the

serial rapist gets nothing... NICE... it must be nice...

[ThomCat]

14. The judge who only gave him probation should be taken from the bench.

That is HORRIBLE! How can raping someone not get someone any prison time? And raping someone who was handcuffed, someone he was supposed to be "counceling?"

:wtf:

Probation? :grr:

And she got a year in prison for trying to protect someone by saying she didn't know who it was who assaulted her? Wow, wouldn't common sense dictate that she had some reason for not revealing who assaulted her, like fear of reprisal and knowing that the police wouldn't protect her? And haven't the police now just proven her right that people can attack her and not go to jail for it? So now they're sending her to jail for being right that maybe she doesn't want to do anything to get the attacker further pissed off at her.

So basically after being attacked by the original attacker, and then raped by a "youth counselor" she then gets attacked by the courts too that should have been protecting her as a crime victim. x(

Damn! That girl will never, ever trust our criminal justice system! And she has every reason to never trust it. :cry:

She has just been shown that no matter what happens, nobody is really going to help her, and she will always come out the worst for it.

[Donald Ian Rankin]

34. A judge didn't give him probation, as I understand it.

This was a plea bargain - I believe that that means that the judge doesn't get to set the sentence?

I guess - and it's only a guess - that what happened is that the prosecutors didn't feel they had enough evidence to go to trial, and thought a slap on the wrist was better than nothing. I'm not an expert on the American legal system, but my understanding is that if anyone deserves to be fired it's the prosecutor and not the judge, and if there wasn't a realistic chance of conviction then arguably not even them.

[Le Taz Hot]

38. IMHO,

plea bargains are far too prevalent in cases of rape. In 1984 the rapist who assaulted me got 6 months in a drug rehabilitation center. He got violent while he was in there and they extended his stay for another 6 months. After "serving" 1 year, he got out, did it again, but this time the attack was so violent he ended up breaking the woman's jaw, several ribs and busted her head open so bad she was in a coma for several days. I feel like I did my job and went through the sheer agony of having to publicly relive this story in court. The plea bargain was a back-room deal that I knew nothing about until right before it happened.

Our nation's focus is on the violence against gays at the moment, as it should be, but remember women are STILL getting a raw deal in cases of rape.

[renate]

54. how incredibly, deeply awful

Good for you for doing your job--the justice system let you down HARD. I can't imagine how you must have felt when you heard his sentence was 6 months in rehab.

I'm really, really sorry. :hug:

[blueamy66]

42. I think that a judge

can shoot down a plea bargain.

Anyway, this whole story stinks.

[ooglymoogly]

47. Laughable. nt

[1monster]

81. The judge has the option of refusing to sanction the plea bargain. S/he can

say that the crime required actual prison time and not accept the plea bargain.

[Fumesucker]

16. I wish I could say this story surprises me..

But it doesn't and that's a sad commentary on the state of our nation.

[seabeyond]

17. didnt read article. but surely he was at least fired from his job, maybe, probably not... nt

[uncommon]

18. PROBATION??? FOR RAPE??? I hope he dies a horrible death. Soon.

I really do.

[Lyric]

26. Not just for rape--for child rape.

And committed by someone working for the justice system, while on the job.

It really doesn't get much worse than that.

[uncommon]

40. Indeed...

Abusing a child is unconscionable. Even if we were talking about an adult victim this would be absolutely incomprehensible.

[valerief]

55. The judge as well as the rapist. nt

[Lorien]

62. And people wonder why it's rarely reported. nt

[rug]

21. He was only convicted of third degree rape, based on the age difference.

In other words, statutory rape. All the prosecutors have to prove is that she is under 17 and he is over 21. A higher rape charge requires proof of force or lack of consent other than inability to consent due to age. That carries a sentence of between five years' probation and four years in prison. The question is: why didn't the prosecutor push for a a more serious rape conviction?

[Kat45]

24. Proof of force and/or lack of consent should be easy since she was handcuffed!

:wtf:

[LisaL]

46. Except the girl did not report it at the time.

Which means there would be no physical evidence. I am presuming that's why the guy got such a good deal under plea bargain-prosecution must have believed they could not get a conviction.

[Initech]

22. WTF???? We live in bizarro world.

[WeekendWarrior]

25. Fuck

Fuck fuck fuck.

I can't believe these crony motherfuckers.

[Tsiyu]

27. The judge is Cassandra Mullens, a female

Manhattan Family Court


More articles:


http://www.nydailynews.com/opinions/2010/10/01/2010-10-01_a_predator_walks.html

"The judge is said to have harbored doubts about whether the DA was confident as to the strength of the case against Simmons.

Just as disturbing, Simmons would have faced no more than four years on any of the charges had he been convicted. The youth and vulnerability of his victims and his abuse of the juvenile justice system would have counted for nothing."

You see, our overwhelmingly male legislators have determined that men in authority raping teenagers is just no big deal. Possessing a pot plant gets more time in some jurisdictions.


http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ny_crime/2010/09/28/2010-09-28_teen_sex_case_judge_blasted.html



If you want to do something to express your outrage:

Tell New York Not to Let Child Rapists Go Free

http://womensrights.change.org/petitions/view/tell_new_york_not_to_let_child_rapists_go_free

[uponit7771]

37. There's something not right about this on it's face...

[Vehl]

29. Why was that guy not jailed?

:mad: :mad:


Just "probation"? What the hell!!

[Donald Ian Rankin]

33. I *guess* that the prosecutors didn't think they had enough evidence to go to court.

This was a plea bargain, which means that the judge didn't get to set the sentence.

I think it very likely that the reason the prosecutor accepted such a desultory sentence is that they didn't think they had enough evidence to take it to a trial, and thought a slap on the wrist was better than nothing.

[liberation]

66. Yeah, but doesn't accepting a plea bargain that involves probation...

... imply an admission of guilt?

If that is the case, the prosecutors should be fired for incompetence.

[Tunkamerica]

67. no, and it would be wrong to assume that every person

on probation is guilty of the original charges brought. Just like it would be foolish to assume that everyone in prison is guilty.

[Donald Ian Rankin]

82. No - the alternative is called an Alford Plea.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alford_plea

That said, I didn't see any mention that this guy was maintaining his innocence, so quite possibly he did admit his guilt. That doesn't mean he would have done if he hadn't been offered the plea bargain, though.

[orleans]

31. omg. n/t

[Donald Ian Rankin]

32. My guess - and it's only a guess - is that prosecutors didn't think they could get a conviction.

It's possible that the prosecutor really is just mad and thought that probation was an adequate sentence for a serial child rapist, but my guess is that what happened was that they didn't think (rightly or wrongly I don't know) that they had enough evidence to convict him in court, and so they decided that a plea bargain and a slap on the wrist was better than nothing.

[The Uncola]

35. What really bothers me..

.. is when I see or hear something that makes me think that violence would be justified. I abhor violence, but wouldn't shed a tear if the prosecutors and judges in this, all had "terrible accidents." Shame on them and the system that let's this kind of inhumanity happen.

[Le Taz Hot]

39. IMHO,

plea bargains are far too prevalent in cases of rape. In 1984 the rapist who assaulted me got 6 months in a drug rehabilitation center. He got violent while he was in there and they extended his stay for another 6 months. After "serving" 1 year, he got out, did it again, but this time the attack was so violent he ended up breaking the woman's jaw, several ribs and busted her head open so bad she was in a coma for several days. I feel like I did my job and went through the sheer agony of having to publicly relive this story in court. The plea bargain was a back-room deal that I knew nothing about until right before it happened.

Our nation's focus is on the violence against gays at the moment, as it should be, but remember women are STILL getting a raw deal in cases of rape.

[Baalath]

41. You are a very brave person.

A blessing on you of warm healing light.

[Tsiyu]

43. Raw deal indeed

This child was treated like refuse by the system.

Just something for the grownups to "use" and discard.

I am disgusted beyond words at the way our nation is destroying its own young people.
And we wonder why they have no trust in the system? THERE IS NOTHING TO TRUST!

I, too hope and pray that Simmons meets up with someone willing to mete out the justice he truly, painfully deserves.

And the judge has to sign off on any agreement. The judge DOES have the ultimate authority.

Simmons WILL rape again...it is his hobby, in fact. The judge and assistant DA should both be removed from Manhattan family court, and competent, caring replacements found.

:grr:

[liberation]

68. Plea bargains should not even be offered in rape cases, period.

Plea bargains admits a certain level of criminal activity is acceptable, the concept in itself negates the pretension of this being a nation of laws but that is neither here nor there. So it is disgusting to the extreme to me that our justice system accepts the possibility that sexual violence against women is somehow acceptable for whatever mitigating reason.

[femrap]

44. Ain't Patriarchy

just grand?:sarcasm:

Rape could be reduced dramatically if only there were the political will....but there ain't none, Blanche.

It's a sick society...and most of our leaders don't care. Sure, they care about their own mothers, daughters, and wives....but other women, not so much.

Rape kits sit on shelves for years. Why aren't they processed? Why don't they hire more people to do this? Why?

[Lorien]

64. Ain't that the truth

and those kits also sit on shelves for years because most of us know better than to report it. We'll just end up being victimized twice.

[Tsiyu]

45. Here is the Judges Info if you would like to contact her

http://www.nycourtsystem.com/Applications/JudicialDirectory/Bio.php?ID=7030147

(646)-386-5710
Cassandra M. Mullen
New York County Supreme Court
111 Centre Street
NY, NY, 10013

[Pisces]

49. This kind of thing happens to the lower classes all of the time. THis

is why they distrust the police and people of authority. They know that the police are there to protect people of a certain class, not them.

When I was in college I became friends with someone who rode the bus who had incredible stories about police stealing pot, raping women, stealing money etc. She was someone who was in her
early 20's and very jaded. I had a hard time believing her stories. She would just laugh at me and say I was naive and from a family with money.

I am now older and wiser, and unfortunately have witnessed how police treat the people that don't count. It is ugly.

[Kievan Rus]

61. The G-20 in Pittsburgh last year proved beyond all doubt...

that the police are little more than a taxpayer-funded security force for the rich.

[Lorien]

65. Ugh. I know about the cops stealing pot

A family member of mine worked for the State prison. When he retired a couple of cop friends of his gave him a significant amount of premium weed as a gift. He said that the cops always had the best stuff. :-(

[ooglymoogly]

50. When the legal system has no respect, chaos follows.

The legal and judicial system has lost all respect; other than its ability to enforce kangaroo justice.

That is fascism.

Giving a child 1 year for lying to a crooked justice system is in itself criminal and morally bankrupt; to say nothing of criminally protecting good old boys, cronies and criminals who are also working for the government; Predatory justice.

The family needs to sue the pants off the agencies involved and appeal this morally bankrupt idiots decision and unjust sentence.

Am hoping the pictures of the judge, the D A and prosecuting attorney's picture are posted and put on record with this hateful albatross around their neck; for when they inevitably run for higher public office, undoubtedly as pugs. This whole debacle is obscene and sick to the core. This is the epitome of thuglican "justice".

[bobburgster]

51. WTF???

Someone tell me the whole world hasn't gone insane!

[valerief]

56. I think this kind of thing happens all the time in other Third World countries.

Now that we're one, too, it will happen more often here.

[AngryAmish]

63. Careful: There are always two sides to every story.

But not this one. This is a crime.

[MissDeeds]

69. Beyond sick and wrong

"...with liberty and justice for all" is just a pipe dream now days.

[Yavapai]

71. The juvenile counselor rapist,

should be given a vasectomy(with a chain saw!)

[rainlillie]

75. I posted this on my blog and it is just stunning

that this guy only got probation. How can someone who admitted to rape only get probation? All three victims were underage. This is just shocking! I read the story and wondered why she was handcuff in the first place, when she wasn't charged with a violent crime. We're talking about a 15-year-old child.

[ZombieHorde]

76. And once again my intense nihilism is reinforced.

That's right, I started a sentence with the word, "and." Take that, grammar fiends.

[RedCloud]

78. The courthouse is just a part of the business. A stalker chased my teen around.

We reported it. They said no had no video in their surveillance cameras. I think they just want another trial for more business.

This is tragic. Violence in the courthouse happens all the time.

[november3rd]

79. The Crime

I thought "The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carrol" was soooooooooo sad when I was a teenager so long ago... but that wasn't as bad as this.

It's not just the dehumanization of children, but of women and men, too. It's one thing for a sick man to fantasize about a girl, but how can anyone live with themselves after actually DOING THAT?