Montana prosecutors are appealing the controversial 30-day sentence of Stacey Rambold, a teacher who admitted to raping his 14-year-old, CNN reported. The young girl, Cherice Moralez, later committed suicide.
Yellowstone County Chief Deputy Attorney Rod Souza argued that the sentence was illegal and can only be corrected after an appeal to the Montana Supreme Court.
District Judge G. Todd Baugh, who imposed the sentence, admitted that it may be against the law, and that a new hearing had been set up for Friday. The judge also received public criticism for comments about he victim that she "seemed older than her chronological age," a statement he later said was wrong to say.
Judge Baugh said that he now believes that the mandatory two year sentence is appropriate and that the court "if necessary..." he would amend the sentence accordingly at Friday's hearing.
Rambold had admitted he raped Moralez, who had been 14 at the time, and who later committed suicide before she turned 17. Rambold was 49 when he raped her.
The case was revived in December 2012 after Rambold pledged to complete a sex-offender treatment program with requirements not to have contact with children, which he reneged on.
"He had some contacts with nieces and nephews in a family setting and other adults were present," the judge said. Rambold also had relationships with other women, something he did not tell counselors about, leading to a "violation from his deferred prosecution."
Baugh sentenced Rambold to 15 years in prison initially , but he then suspended all but 31 days of the sentence, according to the Yellowstone County District Court - a move that drew public outcry, as reported by CNN.
"She wasn't even old enough to get a driver's license," the victim's mother Auliea Hanlon said in a statement released by her attorney. "But Judge Baugh, who never met our daughter, justified the paltry sentence saying she was older than her chronological age. I guess somehow it makes a rape more acceptable if you blame the victim, even if she was only 14."
"You people suck," Hanlon had shouted at the court wen the 30-day sentence was read.
