A Montana judge has apologized for claiming a 14-year-old girl was "as much in control of the situation" as a former teacher who admits raping her.
Yellowstone County District Judge G. Todd Baugh also said Monday teen Cherice Moralez was "older than her chronological age" while sentencing ex-teacher Stacey Rambold to serve just 30 days of a 15-year prison sentence.
Moralez killed herself in 2010 with the case still pending, and her mother claimed the abuse by Rambold was a "major factor" in her daughter's suicide, the Billings Gazette reported.
The mother, Auliea Hanlon, stormed out of Monday's sentencing, shouting "You people suck!"
Baugh has reconsidered his comments, although not the sentence. He wrote an 81-word letter to the Billings paper apologizing for his statements.
"In the Rambold sentencing, I made references to the victim's age and control," Baugh wrote. "I'm not sure just what I was attempting to say, but it did not come out correct.
"What I said is demeaning of all women, not what I believe and irrelevant to the sentencing. My apologies to all my fellow citizens."
He promised to write an addendum to the court file to better explain the sentence.
Yellowstone County Attorney Scott Twito, whose deputy prosecuted the case, said he would review the sentence, but prosecutors would need to identify a legal or factual issue in order to launch an appeal.
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Hanlon told the Gazette she "looked on in disbelief" at the sentencing.
"I guess somehow it makes a rape more acceptable if you blame the victim, even if she was only 14," the mother said .
Baugh was also criticized in July after he allowed a 55-year-old Billings woman to strike a deal for a 3-year suspended sentence, avoiding the possibility she would be convicted of drunken driving for the 13th time, CNN reported. The state's commissioner of higher education blasted Baugh, claiming he told the woman, "If you drink and drive and kill someone, you will spend some real time in prison."
The criticism in that case was minor compared to the wide-ranging backlash unleashed on the judge as his comments in the Rambold hearing went viral.
Protesters, who have called for Baugh's resignation, vowed to go forward with a demonstration planned for Thursday outside the courthouse.
"I'm glad he apologized, but he should have known better as a judge," organizer Sheena Rice said. "The fact that he said it makes me think he still believes it."
An online petition calling for Baugh's resignation had 26,350 signatures as of 8 a.m. Thursday.
If Baugh doesn't resign, Rice said, protesters will organize to vote him out in 2014.
Baugh told the Gazette the outrage was "perfectly understandable" and what he said was "stupid and wrong." However, he defended the sentence, comparing Monday's hearing to sentencing a probation violator.
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The long and winding case began in 2008 when prosecutors charged Rambold with three counts of sexual intercourse without consent after learning of his relationship with Moralez. The case was was still pending in 2010 when Moralez committed suicide. That was a turning point. Rather than push the criminal case without Moralez, prosecutor's cut a deal with Rambold: They'd hold off on charges if he completed a three-year treatment program for sex offenders. He also admitted to raping the girl, the Gazette reported.
The deal fell apart in 2012 after prosecutors learned Rambold failed to hold up his end of the bargain. He'd been kicked out of the treatment program for a series of violations. Program administrators said Rambold missed meetings, had unsupervised visits with minors and began having sex with a woman without telling them.
As a result, prosecutors refiled the charges in December and sought a sentence of 20 years with 10 years suspended. Baugh thought that was overly harsh. He instead sentenced the ex-teacher to 15 years and suspended all but 31 days. The judge knocked off another day for time served, leaving Rambold with just 30 days to spend behind bars.
Now, 54, Rambold will be on probation and supervised by the state for the remainder of the 15 years when he's released , the Gazette reported. He will be required to register as a sex offender.
Rambold's attorney said his client has already entered another treatment program.
A civil lawsuit Hanlon filed against the school district revealed that school officials in 2004 ordered Rambold not to touch or spend time alone with female students.
The district settled the case for $91,000.
With News Wire Services
dmmurphy@nydailynews.com
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