Judge orders new hearing in Montana rape case

BILLINGS (AP) — A Montana judge under fire for his comments about a 14-year-old victim in a schoolhouse rape case has ordered a new sentencing hearing for the former teacher who received just 30 days in prison for the crime.

In setting the hearing for Friday afternoon, District Judge G. Todd Baugh said Tuesday that state law appears to require that a two-year mandatory minimum prison term be imposed against Stacey Rambold, 54, of Billings.

Rambold last week was sentenced to 15 years with all but 31 days suspended and a one-day credit for time-served. He began serving his monthlong term last week at the state prison in Deer Lodge.

"In the Court's opinion, imposing a sentence which suspends more than the mandatory minimum would be an illegal sentence," Baugh wrote.

The judge faced widespread condemnation from women's rights activists, elected officials and others for saying Rambold's 14-year-old victim, Cherise Moralez, was "older than her chronological age" and asserting that she had some control over her months-long relationship with Rambold. Moralez killed herself before Rambold's case came to trial.

The judge later apologized, although activists who have called for him to resign said an apology is not enough.

Prosecutors had been considering an appeal, citing the two-year minimum requirement.

But in a strange twist, Yellowstone County Attorney Scott Twito said Baugh may lack authority to impose such a sentence at this point. That's because state law says an illegal sentence must be handled through the appeal process.

Twito said he planned to be in Baugh's courtroom Friday but was unsure how the hearing might play out.

"I've done this a long time and I'm in an area I have not been in before," said Twito, now in his 16th year as a prosecutor.

Twito said members of his office, along with Rambold's defense attorney, Jay Lansing, met informally with Baugh last week to discuss the case.

If the prosecutor's reading of the law stands up, that could give the defendant the advantage in Friday's hearing.

Lansing could not be immediately reached for comment Tuesday.

Twito said his office will continue to pursue a possible appeal if the sentence remains unchanged. A final decision would be made in conjunction with the appellate division of the Montana attorney general's office.

Hundreds of protesters rallied outside the Yellowstone County Court House last week to call for Baugh's resignation.

The 71-year-old judge was first elected to the bench in 1984 and has been re-elected every six years since without an opponent. He's up for re-election in 2014.

Baugh said in response to the criticism that Rambold's sentence was based on the defendant's violation of an earlier deal he made with prosecutors, rather than the original crime. He also claimed that his remarks about Moralez were "irrelevant" and did not factor into his sentence.

Court records show that the sentence Baugh handed down was in line with what Rambold had requested. Prosecutors had asked for him to be sentenced to 20 years prison with 10 years suspended.