Judge Defends 60-Day Sentence for Father Who Repeatedly Raped His 12-Year-Old Daughter

A petition calling for his impeachment

has more than 20,000 signatures

Sarah Begley, Time  

A Montana judge is facing a backlash after he sentenced

a 40 y/o pervert who pleaded guilty to repeatedly raping

his 12-year-old daughter to just 60 days in jail

District Judge John McKeon is defending the short sentence, noting in an email to the Associated Press that state law permits exceptions to the mandatory minimum 25-year sentence for incest with a child, in cases where psychological evaluations find that treatment would afford “a better opportunity for rehabilitation of the offender and for the ultimate protection of the victim and society.”

But the judge’s decision has sparked objections, including a petition to impeach McKeon that had more than 20,000 signatures as of Wednesday at noon; if it reaches 25,000, it will be presented to the chief clerk of the Montana House of Representatives.

Under the judge’s sentence, the man, whom TIME is not identifying in order to protect the victim, will have to register as a sex offender, receive treatment and receive approval from his probation officer and treatment providers before having contact with the victim or any other minor, the AP reports.

His access to the internet will be limited and he is prohibited from viewing pornography. His sentence is technically a 30-year suspended sentence, which he would have to serve if he failed to meet his probation requirements.

Where's the gold watch; doesn't he get a gold watch, too?

The victim’s mother and grandmother wrote letters asking that the defendant not be given a prison sentence, noting that the man’s sons “still love him” and saying they want him to be part of the children’s lives. A Deputy Valley County Attorney told the AP no one spoke on behalf of the girl at the sentencing hearing on Friday.

This is where it hits me! The child is the victim and the child has no voice. No one stood up for her. How heart-breaking is that? How is that going to affect her for the rest of her life? The judge and the girl's family have thrown her under the bus so her brothers can be happy. Her brothers will learn that they are more important than their sister, and that repeatedly raping a little girl has no real consequences and therefore must be acceptable. In a culture of rape, that is exactly how it is. 

Thank God for the 20,000 who have spoken up for the girl. May there be many, many more. McKeon must be made to feel the heat and, more importantly, it must put the fear of God into other judges across America that such heinous crimes are not to be treated lightly.

No one spoke on behalf of the girl

at the sentencing hearing on Friday

McKeon is planning to retire next month, but the petition argues he should not receive his retirement money. “He did not take care of us,” the petition reads. “We should not have to take care of him.”

[AP]