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School Bus Driver Who Raped 14-Year-Old Will Not Go to Prison
Shane Piche raped a girl who rode his bus in upstate New York. His sentence of 10 years’ probation has prompted outrage.
Rapist Shane Piche.
Why did prosecutors settle for a guilty plea deal of third-degree rape? A weak case? The maximum sentence for 3rd degree rape in that jurisdiction is 1⅓ to 4 years in prison typically with a Level 2 sex offender designation.
10 years probation and a Level 1 sex offender designation? I also think Mr. Piche received a generous and lenient sentence.
Related: School bus driver who raped 14-year-old will not serve jail time
Shane Piche raped a girl who rode his bus in upstate New York. His sentence of 10 years’ probation has prompted outrage.
Rapist Shane Piche.
4/30/19
He was her bus driver, ferrying her to school in Watertown, a small city in upstate New York. Then, one day last summer, having plied her with gifts and alcohol, he invited the 14-year-old to his home and raped her. The driver, Shane Piche, 26, pleaded guilty to third-degree rape earlier this year. But instead of going to prison as the victim’s family had hoped for, Mr. Piche was sentenced on Thursday to 10 years of probation. He was also assigned the lowest-level status on New York’s sex offender registry, according to an official with the State Supreme Court in Jefferson County. The Level 1 status is reserved for offenders with a low risk of committing another similar crime, and means that his future addresses will not be made public. In explaining the sentence, Justice James P. McClusky said that Mr. Piche had no prior arrests and that only one victim had been involved, according to the Watertown Daily Times newspaper. The sentence has led to angry calls to the judge’s chambers from people outraged by the sentence, which was shared widely on social media and has generated thousands of signatures on an online petition calling for the judge’s ouster.
Susan Estrich, a professor at the University of Southern California’s law school, called it “shocking” that Mr. Piche was allowed to plead guilty to what she said were “watered-down” third-degree rape charges. Prosecutors had requested that Mr. Piche be assigned a Level 2 sex-offender designation, which would have meant that his future addresses would have been published on the state’s sex offender registry. The victim’s mother had said she had been hoping that Mr. Piche would receive prison time. “He took something from my daughter she will never get back and has caused her to struggle with depression and anxiety,” the mother said in a statement obtained by WWNY, a Watertown-area television station. Hours after Mr. Piche’s sentencing, a petition was launched on MoveOn.org to remove Justice McClusky from the bench. The judge was elected in 2011 to a 14-year term on the Supreme Court. “Remove him from his position immediately for his blatant disregard for survivors of sexual assault,” reads the petition that by Tuesday had gathered more than 20,000 signatures.
Why did prosecutors settle for a guilty plea deal of third-degree rape? A weak case? The maximum sentence for 3rd degree rape in that jurisdiction is 1⅓ to 4 years in prison typically with a Level 2 sex offender designation.
10 years probation and a Level 1 sex offender designation? I also think Mr. Piche received a generous and lenient sentence.
Related: School bus driver who raped 14-year-old will not serve jail time