Something To Get Your Blood Boiling On A Saturday Morning...

[Lord Jim]

Outrage Follows 60-Day Sentence in Incest Case Against Father of Girl, 12

A judge who sentenced a Montana man to 60 days in jail for incest with his 12-year-old daughter is facing a firestorm of criticism and an impeachment effort by those who view the sentence as far too light.

The state had recommended the 40-year-old father of three serve a 100-year prison sentence with 75 years suspended — in effect, 25 years — and the dismissal of two other incest charges as part of a plea deal.

“A father repeatedly raped his 12-year-old daughter,” the Valley County deputy attorney, Dylan Jensen, said during the sentencing hearing on Oct. 4, according to reports.

But in handing down his sentence, Judge John C. McKeon of Valley County District Court noted that lawyers for the defendant could argue for a less-severe punishment if an evaluator recommended treatment in a local community.

Weighing the evaluation and several other factors, Judge McKeon imposed a 30-year sentence, all of it suspended so long as the man met certain terms. The defendant must also register as a sex offender.

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

To critics, however, the decision represented a breakdown in the system.

“The victim only had the justice system on her side, and it failed her,” the organizer of a petition calling for the judge’s removal wrote. “Judge McKeon failed her. She deserves justice, and together we can help be her voice.”

Since being posted a week ago, the Change.org petition to impeach Judge McKeon had attracted nearly 80,000 supporters by Friday afternoon. 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 a petition to impeach a judge similarly accused of handing down a light sentence in the case of Brock Turner, a former Stanford University swimmer convicted of sexually assaulting an unconscious woman behind a Dumpster.

“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 the deal with the state, the Montana man pleaded guilty to a single felony count of incest. The defendant’s lawyer argued for 25 years of community-based supervision, Judge McKeon wrote.

In handing down the sentence on Oct. 4, Judge McKeon cited a report prepared by Michael D. Sullivan, a specialist who had 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. [How do they feel about the way he treated their sister? ]

Judge McKeon said he weighed all those factors, as well as the support of the defendant’s church, in handing down the sentence.

Among the conditions imposed on the defendant included serving 60 days in jail (he got credit for 17 days already served) and paying for his daughter’s past and future medical expenses, including counseling, therapy and treatment.

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

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/22/us/mo ... ncest.html

It is precisely this sort of addle-brained lunacy coming from the bench that fuels public support for mandatory minimum sentences. Since he's retiring at the end of next month impeaching him might not seem to have much point, but at least he could be stripped of his pension:

https://www.change.org/p/impeach-judge-john-mckeon

Almost as appalling to me as the sentence handed down by this moron is the attitude of the victim's mother and grandmother. (Particularly the mother; that's the attitude of someone who almost certainly knew this was going on and looked the other way. I'd like to see her brought up on charges too.)

How can this woman have so little regard for what was done to her daughter? the idea that she would even want this scumbag to have a relationship with her sons, let alone try to use that as an argument for leniency against the man who repeatedly raped her daughter, is beyond my comprehension.

This guy must have some kind of serious psychological dependence/manipulation hold over his wife and her mother, for their thinking to be so distorted. I seriously question whether this brutalized little girl should be left in their custody.

[RayThom]

And we'll read about something just as sick and perverted again, and much sooner than we would like.

I do have a question about rape. So often I hear the term “repeatedly raped." Not to make light of the crime but does that mean one sexual assault when the rapist is "in and out" many, many times, or does it mean one assault and then an hour later another assault and then an hour later yet another sexual assault, and so on and so on? One rape charge or multiple rape charges?

"Repeatedly raped" appears to animadvert the nature of the crime if only to vilify the perp, and thereby making a stronger legal and moral case for the victim. As if child rape (incest) needs qualifying or quantifying.

[BoSoxGal]

I'd thought about posting this, but have been mulling.

I know Judge John McKeon, I practiced in front of him for 3 years. He is a highly ethical, fair judge and generally sentences very appropriately and fairly toughly. He is the least-overturned judge in Montana (even historically, I believe) because he is so careful and methodical in his rulings.

In Montana, rape means the penetration of any orifice of the victim with any body part of the perpetrator for the sexual gratification of one or both parties. Fingering is thus technically felony rape, and if the victim is your biological child, it's incest. This case probably involved more but may not have involved penetration of the vagina by the penis, that's important to understand, I think.

eta :

(68) (a) "Sexual intercourse" means penetration of the vulva, anus, or mouth of one person by the penis of another person, penetration of the vulva or anus of one person by a body member of another person, or penetration of the vulva or anus of one person by a foreign instrument or object manipulated by another person to knowingly or purposely:
(i) cause bodily injury or humiliate, harass, or degrade; or
(ii) arouse or gratify the sexual response or desire of either party.
(b) For purposes of subsection (68)(a), any penetration, however slight, is sufficient.

I once prosecuted a man for raping his 15 year old stepdaughter while highly intoxicated with her on a camping trip; he fingered her and that was felony rape. The victim spoke to the judge in chambers outside the presence of the defendant or her mother and begged the judge to give her stepfather treatment and probation rather than prison, in accordance with the psychosexual evaluator's recommendation.

The Jessica's Law in Montana is what makes an enhancement for age of the victim, 12 or under requires mandatory 25 years but provides judicial discretion if circumstances warrant. The bar is high and clearly defined by statute. In Montana, the court is required to give great deference to the wishes of the victims. I am sure Judge McKeon took this all very seriously in contemplating sentencing.

He is retiring at end of this year and so a movement to impeach is wasted energy. He won't lose his pension nor should he after the many years of excellent public service he's engaged in.

I wouldn't make further comment on the case without seeing the full file and of course the psychosexual evaluation, which details the crimes, the mental health evaluations of victim and perpetrator, etc. is the one document that is sealed from public view.

All I can say is that I have greater confidence in John McKeon than in any other judge before whom I've appeared in my entire career.

[Joe Guy]

I was planning to comment about the judge losing his pension. I didn't think he could lose it but I wonder what circumstances - if any - could someone who has worked and earned a pension lose it?

Would it take something like a crime that occurred prior to a person qualifying for a pension?

[Big RR]

Joe--That would be my guess, unless Montana has some different pension rules. One cannot have one's pension taken away for no reason than one could have one's savings or checking account taken away.

As for the judge, while this does seem outrageous and indefensible on its face, I would join with BSG at wanting to see more of the details of the case before condemning the judge--especially if he is the type of judge BSG states he is.

[Lord Jim]

Judges in Montana are entitled to their pensions even if they are impeached and removed from the bench by the legislature?

Federal office holders aren't. (This was given at the time as one of the reasons Nixon chose to resign.)

[Big RR]

Impeachment is ostensibly for a crime (or maybe even a high crime and misdemeanor) and removal from office is akin to a judicial conviction for the same, so one might well lose one's pension for removal from office in any state as in the federal system (of course the definition of high crime and misdemeanor is up to the legislature) I recall your point about about Nixon's resignation, as well as the suspicion that it was tied with Ford's pardon (which is similar to a plea bargain).

ETA: Here's a link to an article on state pension forfeiture:

http://www.governing.com/gov-data/other ... -laws.html

[BoSoxGal]

Something I forgot to mention in my last post: the sentencing statutes in Montana are heavily on the side of rehabilitation, and the State and Judges are meant to follow that directive. I was surprised when I started practicing criminal law out there to see that the sentences in Montana are typically much more rehabilitative than my liberal home state of Massachusetts.

Beyond that, this defendant was sentenced to 30 years suspended, and should he violate any of the more meaningful terms of his community probation - those specifically concerning his crime, rather than say, violating curfew - it is entirely possible that he could be revoked on probation and incarcerated for a lengthy period of time.

That being said, Montana is very focused on community placement of offenders whenever possible and after serving 1/4 of time, all offenders are qualified to seek probationary release. Montana has had for about a decade or more a concerted focus on community placement to avoid prison overcrowding and to facilitate functional rehabilitation of eligible offenders.

Montana, by the way, is one of just a few states that never really struggled financially following the 2008 recession. The state's attitude toward incarceration and community placement is one factor, I believe.

I can also attest that because of the small population and the smallness of most communities - Glasgow is TINY - probationers live with a microscope up their asses, they are truly supervised in a way that maybe doesn't happen in the big city and the rest of the more populous areas that you folks are familiar with. There are 12 standard statutory provisions of supervision that all probationers must follow, but the typical sex offender ends up with 36 conditions of probation including a requirement to complete an intensive 18 month sex offender program. This defendant could only have been eligible for community placement because he was designated Tier 1, which means lowest likelihood of recidivism risk to the community - and that squares with the literature, which shows consistently that family perpetrators of molestation are far less likely to reoffend than stranger perpetrators, because once they are caught and labeled, there is no opportunity and they aren't 'built' like the pedophiles who go after other peoples' kids.

I can tell you that this man's life as a known and registered sex offender in a tiny town like Glasgow - and he may even be from a tinier town on the Hi-Line - will be, perhaps justifiably, miserable in many ways. These communities are hard to be accepted within even if you are a very nice person with no criminal history and no known bad behavior.

FWIW, I had a few cases in front of John McKeon that were sex offenses, among many others including violent offenses, and generally as both defense attorney AND prosecutor, I was often disappointed when he wouldn't give the plea agreement sentence but instead sentenced more harshly. We in the Hi-Line Bar generally thought of him as a 'hanging judge' - although never unjustly so. He was just a hard judge and believed in tough sentences. I can only guess at the facts of this case and the reasons for his sentence, but I do, absent some factual showing of extreme prejudice, have confidence that he acted appropriately.

A case like this reminds me of a quote which I included in a speech I gave as Bar Association President when District Court Judge David Rice retired in 2010; John McKeon was at that celebration and I'm thinking I might send him a card to remind him of it:

Judging is a lonely job in which a man is, as near as may be, an island entire. ~ Abe Fortas, SCOTUS Justice

I would be terribly surprised if the Montana Legislature took steps to impeach him on a sentence that is entirely lawful and which the State doesn't even appear to have plans to attempt appealing - and they'd have a hard time, because it IS within the law as written. There simply aren't grounds.

I believe this whole incident is what happens when some activist gets it in mind to make a huge issue of something that isn't as terrible as it sounds if the entire context was presented to the public, not just the bits that seem unseemly on their face.

This is NOT the same as the District Judge in Billings who declared from the bench that a 14 year old victim was 'equally to blame' as her 40-something teacher rapist, in a case with penile penetration on multiple occasions and where the judge sentenced the teacher to only 30 days and a couple of years suspended. That judge was censured by the Montana Supreme Court and resigned early rather than serving out what was to be his final term. His pension was not affected.

[Jarlaxle]

Anyone in favor of having this dude let out should offer to have him move in next door.

[dales]

movin' to montana soon gonna be a dental floss tycoon

[oldr_n_wsr]

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

So who is this Michael D. Sullivan and what does he specialize in? No DR. before his name? Psychologist? Counseler? (the therapy kind not the lawyer kind)
Any kind of "record" behind those evaluations? Recidivism? Wins/Loses/ERA/HR/OBP?

[Big RR]

pasychosexual/forensic evaluations are usually performed by trained counselors specializing in them, and may be clinical psychologists or social workers. Due to the absence of the title Dr., I'd bet he's a social worker with and MSW and extra training to become certified in this area.

[RayThom]

Michael D. Sullivan... AKA Dr. Phil:
http://leg.mt.gov/content/Committees/In ... v-2015.pdf

[dales]

California father sentenced to 1,503 years in prison in daughter’s rape


By ASSOCIATED PRESS
PUBLISHED: October 24, 2016 at 7:54 am | UPDATED: October 24, 2016 at 9:36 am


FRESNO — A Fresno man was sentenced to 1,503 years in prison for raping his teenage daughter over a four-year period.

The 41-year-old was sentenced Friday to the longest-known prison sentence in Fresno Superior Court history, the Fresno Bee reported.

The Associated Press is not naming the man because it could identify his daughter. The AP does not name victims of sexual abuse.

In announcing the punishment, Judge Edward Sarkisian Jr. told the man he is a “serious danger to society” and noted that he had never shown remorse and has blamed his daughter for his predicament.

The man’s daughter was first sexually abused by a family friend but instead of protecting her, he turned her into “a piece of property,” prosecutor Nicole Galstan said.

The victim was raped two to three times a week from May 2009 to May 2013, when the girl got the courage to leave him, Galstan said.

A jury in September found him guilty of 186 felony counts of sexual assault, including dozens of counts of rape of a minor.

“When my father abused me, I was young. I had no power, no voice. I was defenseless,” said the daughter, who now is 23 years old. She also told the judge that her father never has shown remorse for her pain and suffering.

The man turned down two plea deals. Before his preliminary hearing, if he had admitted his guilt, prosecutors would have recommended 13 years in prison. He rejected the offer. Then before his trial, he was offered 22 years in prison if he admitted his guilt. He declined that offer, saying he should be released from jail for the time he already had served, Sarkisian said before announcing the sentence.


“He ruined her teenage years and made her feel like it was her fault,” Galstan said in arguing for the maximum sentence.

The sentencing is in stark contrast to a recent case in Montana, where a man who raped his 12-year-old daughter was not sent to prison. Instead the judge handed down a 30-year suspended sentence after the man pleaded guilty to incest and ordered him to spend 60 days in jail, giving him credit for 17 days already served.

___

[MGMcAnick]

BSG Thank you for posting your first hand knowledge of MT law and the judge in question. I don't agree with you, that the sentence is correct, but thanks for the info.

There was an ongoing incestuous rape incident here that involved two brothers who were raping their sisters over a period of eight or ten years. The twin girls were five and the older brother was 10 when it began. One of the misinformed brothers said, in his defense, "Hey, it's legal in Alabama". When their father found out about it, he didn't report it. He joined in. None of them will be outside for several years.

Now that's more like it.

The girls "came out" about the crime 16 years ago, in an effort to make other girls aware that they CAN AND SHOULD report incest. It is not normal in any way shape or form, although they had been given the impression/misinformation that it was at a very young age. It's not normal, but it is far more widespread than we'd like to think.

[RayThom]

California father sentenced to 1,503 years in prison in daughter’s rape
By ASSOCIATED PRESS
PUBLISHED: October 24, 2016 at 7:54 am | UPDATED: October 24, 2016 at 9:36 am
FRESNO — A Fresno man was sentenced to 1,503 years in prison for raping his teenage daughter over a four-year period.

That's my definition of "repeatedly raped." Revictimized at every new sexual assault.