Montana Judge Todd Baugh says 14-year-old rape victim was ‘older than her chronological age’
Yellowstone County District Judge Todd Baugh issued an apology for his remarks, which he said were ‘stupid and wrong.’
A Montana judge is facing calls for his resignation after he said a 14-year-old rape victim was “older than her chronological age” and was “as much in control of the situation” as the man – her teacher — who sexually assaulted her.
Yellowstone County District Judge Todd Baugh made the controversial comments on Monday as he ordered Stacey Rambold to serve 30 days of a 15-year sentence for having sexual intercourse with a girl beneath the age of consent.
Prosecutors had sought a 20-year sentence with 10 years suspended for the former Billings Senior High teacher, who is now aged 54.
Rambold’s victim, Cherice Moralez, committed suicide in 2010 with the criminal case still pending.
The girl’s mother, who believes her daughter killed herself as a result of the distress caused by the assault, reportedly screamed at the judge before storming out of the courtroom.
In a letter to the Billings Gazette editor on Wednesday, Baugh apologized for his remarks, which he admitted were “demeaning of all women.”
"I don't know what I was thinking or trying to say," he said. "It was just stupid and wrong.”
An online petition calling for Baugh’s resignation had gathered 31,176 signatures by early afternoon Thursday.
A protest is also planned for Thursday.
A month in jail is more than what Rambold would have got under a deal reached with prosecutors after Moralez's death.
Prosecutors were prepared to drop charges against him and let him walk free if he completed a three-year treatment program for sex offenders.
But the case was reactivated in December after they learned that Rambold had been kicked out of the program for numerous violations, including unsupervised visits with minors.