Montana teacher -- initially given 31 days in rape of student -- now gets 10 years
By Joshua Berlinger, CNN
updated 7:15 PM EDT, Fri September 26, 2014
CNN) -- A Montana teacher who was originally sentenced to serve 31 days after he pleaded guilty to raping a 14-year-old student was re-sentenced Friday to nearly 10 years in prison, according to a prosecutor in the case.
Stacey Dean Rambold pleaded guilty to raping a freshman in his business class at Billings Senior High, in 2007.
The victim, Cherice Moralez, committed suicide in 2010, before the case went to trial and before she reached her 17th birthday.
Montana's Supreme Court ruled that the man who initially sentenced Rambold, Judge G. Todd Baugh, used an inapplicable statute to impose the original sentence.
Baugh drew intense criticism for both the brief duration of his initial sentence and for making comments that some said placed blame on the victim.
Judge Randal Spaulding re-sentenced Rambold, 55, to 15 years in prison, with five years of that suspended.
Rambold will get credit for the month he served behind bars earlier in the case.
Yellowstone County prosecutor Scott Twito announced details of the Friday re-sentencing.
http://www.cnn.com/2014/09/26/justice/montana-rape-sentence/index.html
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