A former Montana teacher who was sentenced to one-month is prison for raping a 14-year-old may be facing more time behind prison, according to CNN.
Prosecutors have officially filed an appeal on Friday in the controversial case of Stacey Dean Rambold, whose sentence was imposed by District Judge G. Todd Baugh. Rambold was charged with three counts of sexual intercourse without consent in 2008.
"The circumstance of a 47-year-old teacher having sexual intercourse with his 14-year-old student is precisely such a circumstance warranting a mandatory minimum sentence," the court document said.
The case originally drew criticism when District Judge Baugh said the teen victim "seemed older than her chronological age" during Rambold's sentencing hearing.
Baugh later stated he did not know there was a minimum sentence of two-years, and claimed he did not have the authority to change the ruling. The judge also "apologized" for his statements about the victim Cherise Morales.
"I made some references to the victim's age and control," Baugh told KTVQ. "I'm not sure just what I was attempting to say at that point, but it didn't come out correct. What I said was demeaning to all women, not what I believe in and irrelevant to the sentencing."
Morales killed herself in 2010, just shy of turning 17-years-old. The school district paid Morales' mother $96,000 in a settlement for the wrongful death lawsuit brought up against them, which revealed the school had warned Rambold to avoid "being alone" with female students, according to the Daily Mail.
"The girl's mother, Auliea Hanlon, says that Rambold's sexual abuse was a 'major factor' in her daughter's suicide," the Daily Mail reported. "Following the girl's death, prosecutors were forced to defer prosecution. They agreed to dismiss the case if Rambold admitted to one count of rape and agreed to enter a three-stage sex offender treatment program."
