Former Senior High School Teacher gets 30 Days in Jail for Raping 14yr Old who committed Suicide

Unbelievable injustice in this case. He is convicted of rape. His victim later commits suicide and he is sentenced to 15 years in jail suspended to 31 days and given credit for 1 day already served! What the hell is wrong with America?


Former Senior High teacher gets 30 days for rape of student

Stacey Dean Rambold, 54, had at least three sexual encounters with student Cherice Morales in 2008. In 2010, the student committed suicide a few weeks before her 17th birthday, The Billings Gazette reported. Yellowstone County Judge G. Todd Baugh sentenced Rambold to 15 years prison, with all but only 31 days suspended for sexual intercourse without consent. The judge then gave Rambold credit for one day served, bringing the offender's total jail time to just 30 days. Auliea Hanlon, mother to the victim, testified that her daughter's relationship with Rambold was a large factor in the teen's suicide. As the sentence was delivered, Hanlon began to scream "You people suck!" before leaving the courtroom.

Although Rambold was ordered to complete a sex-offender treatment program to have charges dismissed in 2008 after pleading guilty to rape, he was terminated from the program for missing meetings. Judge Baugh said the ex-teacher's termination from the program did not warrant a lengthy imprisonment.

Judge Baugh also said victim Morales was "older than her chronological age."

It was rape because of her age. She could have consented and even initiated but it's still rape. I think this had a lot to do with the judges ruling.
Now, I'm not making excuses for the man, I'm don't even agree with the ruling, I'm playing devils advocate. , The age difference between the two is huge and disgusting if you ask me but... In a lot of Countries in the world, the age of Consent is 16. Food for thought.

NM< she was 14 at the time, granted that's two years before 16, that's still disturbing.
... and what does older than her Chronological age mean? Does it mean she looked like she was 20?

Originally posted by kimish
It was rape because of her age. She could have consented and even initiated but it's still rape. I think this had a lot to do with the judges ruling.
Now, I'm not making excuses for the man, I'm don't even agree with the ruling, I'm playing devils advocate. , The age difference between the two is huge and disgusting if you ask me but... In a lot of Countries in the world, the age of Consent is 16. Food for thought.

She was 14, your point? He was a teacher, got a slap on the wrist more than likely from a judge who dittles his kids. Playing devils advocate here.

reply to post by UnifiedSerenity


No, you're not playing devils advocate. You're emotional and disgusted at my post. Which means that your emotions got the best of you and you only read what you wanted to out of my post.

Was he even her teacher? Are not teachers people too? In my first post, I said it was disturbing. Take your head out of your ass and sharpen your reading comprehension skills, a lot. Speaking on emotion and making decisions based on emotion are two things that will get you and others into trouble in your life. Not smart.

If she wouldn't have committed suicide this wouldn't have even been brought up here. This is a case of a pervert and the media sensationalizing a tragedy.

Originally posted by kimish
reply to post by UnifiedSerenity

 

No, you're not playing devils advocate. You're emotional and disgusted at my post. Which means that your emotions got the best of you and you only read what you wanted to out of my post.

Was he even her teacher? Are not teachers people too? In my first post, I said it was disturbing. Take your head out of your ass and sharpen your reading comprehension skills, a lot. Speaking on emotion and making decisions based on emotion are two things that will get you and others into trouble in your life. Not smart.

If she wouldn't have committed suicide this wouldn't have even been brought up here. This is a case of a pervert and the media sensationalizing a tragedy.

edit on 27-8-2013 by kimish because: (no reason given)

edit on 27-8-2013 by kimish because: (no reason given)

I am the last person you want to accuse of going by my emotions. You played devil's advocate so I did the same in turn. You are the one showing extreme emotion by your little diatribe and accusations. You have no clue about any of this. Society is just turning a blind eye to this sort of thing, and teachers should be our most trusted individuals whether they are teaching your kid or not. Children are easy prey for authority figures and he abused it more than likely.

Most of the men saying crap about legal age is 16 and another one I love, "My grandma got married when she was 10 way back when" more than likely love screwing young girls so they can be their first and teach em right.

If we had good old fashioned street justice this dude would be hangin' from a tree, and it would send a message to other people with the same disease.

I believe in peace, but I don't believe in tolerance for people with no self-control. (Better luck next life, buddy.)

We've become a nation of whining sheep, scared of our government and scared to give people what they really deserve. We imprison drug users and let rapists go free.... Land of the backwards morons.

reply to post by UnifiedSerenity


How the hell do you get 15 years suspended from your sentence???? And more to the point "older than her chronological age"???? WHAT!!!! That's just opened a huge doorway for other paedophiles

Originally posted by EA006
reply to post by UnifiedSerenity

 

How the hell do you get 31 years suspended from your sentence???? And more to the point "older than her chronological age"???? WHAT!!!! That's just opened a huge doorway for other paedophiles

edit on 27-8-2013 by EA006 because: (no reason given)

You said it perfectly! And yet, a dozen perverts will come on here saying it's legal to have sex at 16 by consent. They defend this bastard as if the girl was asking for it, and it's clear she wanted it right? I mean, why else would she commit suicide? I know.... (sarcasm coming) she was distraught her lover was caught and in trouble.

I believe all child molesters and rapists need to be taken out and shot once found guilty. If that is not fair, then find an island and dump them on it, fly over it once a month and drop some food down there. Let them figure it out.

reply to post by UnifiedSerenity


I agree that many will see this case and salvate, mostly the pedo's. Hopefully his sentencing (only doing 30 days) was a misprint. As i stated before, which some may have read past, it is disturbing. For any adult of that age to have intercourse with a minor of that age is disgusting. I'm sure this "man" will get his justice out on the streetw. He wont last very long.

Also, saying she comitted suicide because of the rape is jumping to conclusions. Her mother claimed such, and reasonably so, she is experiencing the worst pain any parent could experience, the loss of a child. The fact is, unless this poor girl left behind a suicide note, nobody will ever know why she chose her own demise.

I will state again, for the THIRD time. The rape case is disturbing. I do not condone the actions of this man.. I do not condone pedophelia and i urge other posters to read all texts with a logical frame mind and refrain from cherry picking bits and pieces of other posts to suit your emotional feelings. I understand this is a touchy subject, but rationality shouls overtake emotion on thiughts and responses.

Originally posted by EA006
reply to post by UnifiedSerenity

 

How the hell do you get 15 years suspended from your sentence???? And more to the point "older than her chronological age"???? WHAT!!!! That's just opened a huge doorway for other paedophiles

edit on 27-8-2013 by EA006 because: (no reason given)

edit on 27-8-2013 by EA006 because: (no reason given)

I agree. Hopefully the article has misprints.
Either way, this guy will get his. You bet there are people out there ready to punish him.

Rape resulting in suicide? 30 days in prison.

5 grams of crack up your butt, medically paralysed, restrained, and anally violated.

Butt crack is the crime of choice for law enforcement.

I don't like this judge.

A Billings woman who struck a plea agreement that called for the dismissal of her 13th drunken-driving offense was sentenced Monday in Yellowstone County District Court.

Lori Ann Cole, 55, appeared before Judge G. Todd Baugh and was ordered to serve a three-year suspended sentence for felony criminal endangerment.

The judge ordered Cole to pay a $1,000 fine, and serve a concurrent six-month suspended jail term for a misdemeanor charge of driving without an interlock device.

Lin k

I don't really care if the girl was 'consenting' or 'mature for her age'. It doesn't matter. You mess with kids and there should always be a very harsh sentence. So pretty much it's a slap on the wrist for raping kids and endangering lives in that courtroom.

Originally posted by EA006
reply to post by UnifiedSerenity

 

How the hell do you get 15 years suspended from your sentence???? And more to the point "older than her chronological age"???? WHAT!!!! That's just opened a huge doorway for other paedophiles

edit on 27-8-2013 by EA006 because: (no reason given)

edit on 27-8-2013 by EA006 because: (no reason given)

Agree.

Ya know, we have laws because many people simply don't have a moral compass. This teacher had to have known that the girl was only 14. He also knew that the law forbids adults from having sex with minors. So, it doesn't even matter if the girl LOOKED like a thirty-year-old whiskey guzzling slut.

reply to post by Domo1


He definitely gives light sentences. I prefer that to harsh ones. I think that he followed the facts of the case and perhaps the girl had. A crush or flirted with the teacher and he considered that and/or her appearance in the chronological age comment. I personally think 16 or 17 should be the age of consent across the board. If you are old enough to decidw to have sex with someone your own age, how are you less equipped to decide to have sex with someone older?

reply to post by GogoVicMorrow


First of all, he is an authority figure. You actually think it would not be hard to have some googly eyes pubescent girl fawn all over you with the right kind of attention? How easy is it for an older man to play on a young girl who looks up to him and respects him?

Lots of girls get pressured into sex and experimenting with boys their age. Lots of boys look for that opening to push her because "I love you babe and don't you want me? You know I'm going to be real good and gentle" kiss kiss nuzzle, then it happens.

Lots of girls do not really have sex for the right reason. They don't want to be "the virgin", they want to be liked by the boys and we know just how popular the girls who put out are. Then there is the often missing father figure and attention from a boy, any boy makes them feel loved, when all the boy wants is a piece.

I wish more girls respected themselves more than they do.

reply to post by GogoVicMorrow


Well she was 14. At what age do you think there should be a cutoff? Genuinely asking. I think there is a bit of a difference between two 14 year olds having sex, and a 30+ year old having sex with a 14 year old. You do raise a good question though, at what age or maturity level should someone be able to consent? I see the shades of grey, but I feel like this case is black and white.

I'm all for light punishments on first offenses and petty crimes, but rape (and like it or not, that's what it was) and a 13th DUI conviction are not minor offenses. The punishment should fit the crime. I've chided people here a few times for saying rape and torture the rapist, but I at least expect them to go to jail longer than someone caught peeing in public.

A few key points were left out here...

Souza said Rambold targeted a troubled young girl and violated his position of trust as a teacher by engaging in a sexual relationship with a student.

"Rambold...violated his position of trust by engaging in a sexual relationship with a student." Sounds like Morales was his student to me.

While the case was pending, and a few weeks before her 17th birthday, Morales took her own life.

"While the case was pending,...Morales took her own life." Also sounds like the rape and the case in general played a pretty significant part in her suicide. Her mother may be distraught but I doubt she'd just make up the fact that her daughter's state of mind was greatly affected by the rapes and contributed to her decision to end her own life...in fact, her mental health being affected by rape and a subsequent case/trial logically seems like the most likely outcome for her after going through it all.

In October 2008, prosecutors charged Rambold with three counts of sexual intercourse without consent, alleging that the then-49-year-old man had an ongoing sexual relationship with Morales, who was 14 at the time.

"...Three counts of sexual intercourse without consent..." Yeah, sounds like rape to me. If anyone has another definition for sexual intercourse without consent, please let me know because I've always been under the impression that sexual intercourse without consent (or any sexual intercourse with a child, no less) is rape.

The same year Rambold was hired as a business teacher for Senior High School in 2004, principal Scott Anderson met with Rambold to discuss allegations that he touched a girl's thigh and waist. A court affidavit said Anderson told Rambold to "keep his hands off all students" and that anything further would result in a formal investigation, KTVQ reported.

The situation with Morales was not the first incident of Rambold having inappropriate sexual contact with one of his underage students. This fact establishes a clear pattern of intent and conduct on the offender's part: Rambold had a documented history of inappropriate sexual contact with a minor prior to raping Morales. Clearly, he has a sexual attraction to young teen girls which is not only sick but illegal if acted upon. Take into consideration his documented history, his easily discernible desires, and the fact that most sex crimes go unreported (especially by underage victims) and it's safe to assume these two victims were most likely not his first (he most likely touched and/or raped other underage students and they just never came forward) and if he hadn't been caught, they most likely would not have been his last. If history and hundreds of thousands of documented incidents of sex crimes have taught us anything, it's that the majority of sex offenders are not one time offenders and the rate of recidivism (reoffending) for most sex offenders is so high that it's basically guaranteed that once an offender has given into their desires and offended once, they will offend again with no end if given the opportunity; a perfect example of that is the fact that after inappropriately touching a minor student and getting away scot free, Rambold repeatedly raped Morales with no concern for how she would be impacted by the acts or the possible repercussions he could face for the acts...he was given and took full advantage of the opportunity to continue fulfilling his desires once he was allowed to continue teaching minors.

No matter how old Morales looked or what she may have done in the situation, she was still a fourteen year old child incapable by law of giving consent and he was in a position of authority over her and his actions constitute clear cut rape..or whatever that state's legal-ese definition and wording of the crime is). She wasn't old enough for a driver's permit or a part time job, do you really think she was old enough to consent to a sexual relationship with a man who was six or seven years short of being four times her age? Would you be okay with a fifty year old man having a sexual relationship with your fourteen year old daughter, even if she said she wanted to or looked older and/or dressed risqué? If you answered no to both of these questions, you answered correctly. If you answered yes to one or both of these questions, you should probably re-evaluate your position from many standpoints, starting with easy ones like legality and personal integrity and ending with morality and common sense.

reply to post by jcutler12888


"Without consent" because she hadn't yet reached the legal age of consent.

The judge did say that she was as much at fault as the teacher. I'm not saying I agree with that statement, because I don't, but that is what was said.

We also don't know that she didn't have other things in her life going on. Was she on medication of any type? Children her age that take anti-depressants are prone to commit suicide at a greater rate than individuals that aren't taking that poison.

For the record, I will come out and say it a FOURTH time for everyone. What happened to this girl was disturbing. I do not condone the teachers actions nor do I agree with the slap on the wrist he received. As a father first then as an individual, I believe that the man should be punished to the full extent of the law and the judge's license should be revoked, permanently.

reply to post by kimish


It's all good, kimish. I don't think anyone thinks you're in support of this guy or what he did. You don't have to defend yourself.

Anyway, thank you for reinforcing my point. I'm fully aware what "without consent" means in all forms and interpretations...that's what being a law student has gotten me, LOL. Without consent can mean that a person of consenting age did not consent to involvement in something OR that a person incapable of giving consent (whether due to age, mental defect or handicap, etc) was involved in something that explicitly required consent. Morales falls into the latter category, incapable of giving consent due to age. Either way, whether she fell into either category, it still constitutes rape.

Children are not yet cognitively developed enough to make decisions that can affect them for life because they don't understand the gravity of the choices they make or the weight of the things they could choose...the big picture does not exist to them and they can ruin their lives in so many ways if given free reign. They do not understand the long term consequences or impact of their choices and therefore are incapable of truly consenting to anything that they do not fully understand. Children, in the same way that many mentally handicapped people cannot grasp the full scope of what sex is and means in its entirety, cannot give consent because they lack the mental faculties to make adult decisions about adult matters. If a fifty year old man had had a secret sexual relationship with a mentally challenged girl, whether she was fourteen or forty, it would legally be considered rape. You would consider it rape, right? The female would have no ability to give any true consent and it would be an outrage. I don't see why anyone would treat a fifty year old man doing the same thing to a fourteen year old child any differently. Statutory or not, it's still rape.

Kimish, the judge himself has a history of bad judgements...a pattern of letting serious offenders and repeat offenders slip through the cracks because he just doesn't wanna be harsh. It's pointless to mention that a judge with an established pattern of giving sentences that don't fit the crime said that she was at as much fault as the teacher. Honestly, the girl died two years before sentencing so the judge couldn't have had any reasonable evidence to make such a claim...the only evidence he would have would be early statements made by the girl and statements made by the offender, which can hardly be trusted. Most importantly, she was a child and any judge worth his salt would know that it is directly contradictory of the law and ethics to ascribe any responsibility in a sex crime to the child victim. Any grown man (especially a judge, who should have better sense) stating that a fourteen year old is equally responsible for her own rape is reprehensible and should be reprimanded and the state should evaluate whether he's even fit to be on the bench...add that statement to a long list of major fails on that guy's part.

They allegedly had sex three times: once at the high school, once in his car, and once at his home. I don't care what the girl said or did or looked like, no fifty year old man should have sex with his fourteen year old student anywhere, ever. The fact that he not only had sex with her in the school but proceeded to allow her entry into his car and then his house for more sex is repugnant and clearly, he was in control of the situation if he allowed her into his car and home to continue the inappropriate sexual activity. The burden of responsibility lies on the adult who was also the authority figure. No responsibility lies on the child's shoulders.

Antidepressants are not approved for use in individuals that are eighteen or younger for the very reason you stated. Very rarely do doctors go against FDA guidelines when it comes to children...usually only in very rare cases do they prescribe full blown anti-depressants to children but it does happen. If she was on anti-depressants, I wouldn't be surprised because I'd imagine she needed them to cope with the subsequent fallout from the "sexual relationship" (if you can call it that), and the rigors of the resulting case. If taking anti-depressants contributed to her suicide, it would still be a matter of realizing that she had to take them to combat depression most likely resulting from the rapes and the case...which leads right back into understanding that this situation fueled her suicide.

I've gotta say, this is a pretty outrageous case but honestly, they're all outrageous. The only reason this specific case is up for debate seems to be the fact that in this country, somebody has to die before anyone pays any attention...and even then, sometimes that doesn't even get anyone's attention. It's a damn shame.

He did seem to get off lightly:

A person convicted of sexual intercourse without consent shall be punished by life imprisonment or by imprisonment in the state prison for a term of not less than 2 years or more than 100 years and may be fined not more than $50,000

If the victim is less than 16 years old and the offender is 4 or more years older than the victim or if the offender inflicts bodily injury upon anyone in the course of committing sexual intercourse without consent, the offender shall be punished by life imprisonment or by imprisonment in the state prison for a term of not less than 4 years or more than 100 years and may be fined not more than $50,000

leg.mt.gov...

I really hope his sentence is appealed by prosecution.