The Montana man who was convicted of rape and sentenced to a mere 30-day prison sentence is scheduled to be released from prison on Thursday renewing outrage over the case, according to ABC News.
Stacey Rambold, a former high school teacher, was convicted of raping Cherice Moralez when she was 14-years-old in 2007. Moralez committed suicide prior to the case reaching trial.
District Judge G. Todd Baugh said that the victim was "older than her chronological" age when he announced the extremely light sentence. After much outrage Baugh said that he regretted his choice of words and he attempted to call a hearing to change the sentence before the Montana Supreme Court stepped in and barred him from doing so, according to ABC News.
Activists are calling for the removal of Baugh and preparing to file a formal complaint. Monroe Freedman, a scholar on judicial ethics from Hofstra University, told the Associated Press that Baugh clearly violated judicial conduct rules when sentencing Rambold.
"I'm not generally in favor of disciplining judges for the conduct on the bench, but in my judgment, this clearly warrants disciplinary action," Freedman said. "He has not acted with impartiality here. He has shown bias against the young woman."
Marian Bradley, president of the Montana National Organization for Women, said that in filing the complaint her organization plans on using the 100,000 plus people who signed a petition calling for Baugh's removal as witnesses, according to the Associated Press.
"He believes nobody can remove him from office, that he can say these things and then we're going to go away," Bradley told the Associated Press. "Well, we're not going away. Our goal is to change the system so that young people, when they come forward for these things, will be heard."
The victim's mother, Auliea Hanlon, told the New York Daily News that it was unthinkable that Rambold would be free after so little time.
"I figured he'd be fired, go to jail, and she would be vindicated, and that would be the end of it," Hanlon said. "Instead, here it is six years later, still going on, and he's getting out. He's still skating. I considered going down to the jail to forgive him, but I don't know. I'm still waiting for a sign from God."
© 2025 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.