[Vision2020] Montana Judge Criticized for 60-Day Sentence Handed to Man for Incest With Daughter, 12

[Rose Huskey]

What I can’t figure out is why anyone gives a hoot if this man can be happily reintegrated in society.  This was not a one off horrific act – it was a several time occurrence according to the press report.  The judge (who appears to be a first class ninny – where was his concern about the victim?)  should be recalled (in my opinion).  The response from wishful church members sounds all too familiar to folks in Moscow – local Christ Church members wrote letters of recommendation for Steven Sitler as well.  Fortunately, one set of  wise and caring parents <http://sitler.moscowid.net/2005/09/07/victims-parents-the-honorable-judge-stegner/> ) had the brains and courage to expose the offender.  Of course, they were not from Moscow they were not pastorally led by Doug Wilson.

Glasgco, Montisana is  a town with 3400 people four hours away from Billings. The notion of effective community based treatment is questionable.  We know from following the ten years of continual “treatment”  provided locally  to Steven Sitler the notion of “rehabilitation” is a flight of fancy and a cash cow for the providers.  The perpetrator in this  instance, apparently finds strong allies in his wife and mother – also a recurrent theme in the Steven Sitler story.   Protecting children should be the standard that must be met, not accommodating predators.

Rose Huskey

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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From: vision2020-bounces at moscow.com [mailto:vision2020-bounces at moscow.com] On Behalf Of Tom Hansen
Sent: Friday, October 21, 2016 8:45 AM
To: Moscow Vision 2020
Subject: [Vision2020] Montana Judge Criticized for 60-Day Sentence Handed to Man for Incest With Daughter, 12

 

Courtesy of the New York Times at:

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/22/us/montana-judge-criticized-for-60-day-sentence-for-felony-incest.html

 

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Montana Judge Criticized for 60-Day Sentence Handed to Man for Incest With Daughter, 12


 

A judge who sentenced a Montana man to 60 days in jail for incest with his 12-year-old daughter is facing a growing wave of criticism from those who view the sentence as far too light.

 

Since being posted a week ago, an online petition to impeach Judge John C. McKeon of Valley County District Court had attracted more than 55,000 supporters by Thursday afternoon, the most active item this week on Change.org, a petition-publishing platform.

 

The petition belongs to a newly popularized form of activism, in which critics of sentences perceived as too lenient try to harness the power of the internet to penalize the judges who issue them. More than 1.3 million people have signed onto a petition to impeach a judge similarly accused of handing down a light sentence for a sexual assault at Stanford University.

 

“It is time to start punishing the judges who let these monsters walk our streets,” Justice4Montana, the group seeking Judge McKeon’s impeachment, wrote in the petition.

 

In Montana, the Legislature or Supreme Court ultimately holds the power to remove judges, according to the National Center for State Courts.

 

Under a deal with the state, the Montana man, a 40-year-old father of three, pleaded guilty to a single felony count of incest.

 

The defendant’s lawyer argued for 25 years of community-based supervision, Judge McKeon wrote.

 

The state recommended that he serve 25 years in prison, adding that he could argue for a less-severe punishment if an evaluator recommended treatment in a local community, according to the judge.

 

In handing down the sentence on Oct. 4, Judge McKeon cited just such a report, prepared by Michael D. Sullivan, a specialist who has performed more than 2,000 evaluations over a nearly 30-year career.

 

Mr. Sullivan, who performed a psychosexual evaluation of the victim’s father, found that he could “be safely treated and supervised” in a local community and that such treatment was available, the judge wrote in his ruling.

 

Judge McKeon also cited statements from the victim’s mother and maternal grandmother, both of whom acknowledged the “horrible” nature of the crime while seeking leniency.

 

“He needs help — not to spend 25 years locked up,” the victim’s mother wrote. His two sons need their father, she added, “even with very understandable restrictions.”

 

Those sons would be “devastated” were he no longer in their lives, the maternal grandmother wrote.

 

Weighing all of those factors, as well as the support of the defendant’s church, Judge McKeon said, he imposed a 30-year prison sentence, all of it suspended so long as the man meets certain terms.

 

Those conditions included serving 60 days in jail (he is getting credit for 17 days that he has already served), registering as a sex offender and paying for his daughter’s past and future medical expenses, including counseling, therapy and treatment.

 

“The sentence may not be a popular decision by certain members of the general public but it is a just and proper decision,” Judge McKeon wrote.

 

To critics, however, the decision represents a system breakdown.

 

“The victim only had the justice system on her side, and it failed her,” the petition organizer wrote. “Judge McKeon failed her. She deserves justice and together we can help be her voice.”

 

Whatever the results of the petition effort, Judge McKeon will be leaving his job fairly soon: After 22 years on the bench, he plans to retire on Nov. 30, according to the Billings Gazette.

 

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Seeya 'round town, Moscow, because . . .





"Moscow Cares" 

 <http://www.moscowcares.com/> http://www.MoscowCares.com

  

Tom Hansen

Moscow, Idaho

  

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