FW: This is horrible

[Maria Selva]

pls sign petition below.
Maria Selva

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Subject: This is horrible
From: in...@weareultraviolet.org
To: selv...@hotmail.com
Date: Thu, 29 Aug 2013 16:29:57 +0000

Judge G. Todd Baugh sentenced a man to 30 days in jail for raping a 14-year-old girl and then blamed the girl for her own rape. Can you sign the petition demanding that Montana's Judicial Standards Commission and Supreme Court remove him from the bench? Click Here

Dear Maria,

Cherice Moralez was just 14 when her 49-year old teacher repeatedly raped her. Two years later, Cherice committed suicide--and according to her mother, the trauma of rape was a major factor in her death.¹
But on Monday, 5 years after the rape, Billings, Montana Judge G. Todd Baugh sent her rapist to prison for just 30 days. In his ruling, he justified the light sentence because he said the victim was “as much in control of the situation” as her rapist and that she was “older than her chronological age.”²
THIS is rape culture at its worst: when our courts can let a man who raped a child go free after just days in jail and then blame the child for her own rape.
Judge Baugh’s statement has made national news, and outrage in Montana is growing. Under Montana law, the Judicial Standards Commission and Supreme Court can suspend judges.³ And the pressure is mounting on authorities to act--this morning, hundreds of Montanans are expected to protest in downtown Billings.⁴ If tens of thousands of us from all over the country join with local protesters and speak out, we can make sure that the Montana courts disrobe Judge Baugh so he can never let a rapist off the hook again. Can you sign the petition?
Sign the petition demanding that Judge Baugh be removed from the bench.
Cherice Moralez’s mother was in the courtroom when the Judge blamed her daughter for her own rape. “I guess somehow it makes a rape more acceptable if you blame the victim, even if she was only 14,” she said in a written statement after the sentencing.⁵
Originally, Judge Baugh gave the rapist, Stacey Rombard, no jail time at all, sending him to a sex offender rehabilitation program instead. Rombard was back in court after violating the rules of the program--including the provision that bans him from having contact with children.⁶ But Judge Baugh thought he still shouldn't serve his full sentence, suspending all but 31 days and giving him a credit for one day he had already served.
Rape is an epidemic in this country--1 in 5 women has been the victim of an attempted or completed rape.⁷ But less than half of all rape cases are reported, and only 3% of rapists spend a single day in jail.⁸ No wonder so many survivors don’t come forward when the justice system seems stacked against them and a judge can blame a survivor for the attacks against them instead of the actual rapist.
A judge who thinks a 14-year-old girl is to blame for her own rape should not be on the bench. Pressure is mounting in Montana for the court system to do something about this quickly. If we all speak out, we can make sure Judge Baugh is suspended and can never rule on a case like this again. Will you sign the petition?
Add your name.
Thanks for speaking out.

--Nita, Shaunna, Kat, Malinda and Karin, the UltraViolet team

 

Sources:

1. Montana judge criticized for 31-day sentence for ex-teacher who raped teen, Reuters, August 28, 2013
2. Ibid.
3. Methods of Judicial Selection: Removal of Judges, American Judicature Society
4. Montana judge criticized for 31-day sentence for ex-teacher who raped teen, Reuters, August 28, 2013
5. Mont. Judge Apologizes for Comments in Teen's Rape, Associated Press, August 28, 2013
6. Ibid.
7. Nearly 1 in 5 Women in U.S. Survey Say They Have Been Sexually Assaulted, New York Times, December 14, 2011
8. Reporting Rates, Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network

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