Judge Sparks Outrage For No Jail Time In Rape Sentence
Apr 30, 2019, 4:22 PM | Updated: Jun 8, 2022, 5:10 pm
26-year-old Shane Piche was accused of raping a teenager in Watertown, New York, last summer. Piche, who was a bus driver in the victim's school district, pleaded guilty to third-degree rape in February. (Credit: Watertown Police Department)
(Credit: Watertown Police Department)
WATERTOWN, N.Y. (AP) — An upstate New York judge who stoked social media outrage for sentencing a former school bus driver to probation in the rape of a 14-year-old is getting “numerous vitriolic” phone calls, court officials said Tuesday.
The sentencing drew national media attention and harsh criticism. Twitter users posted the phone number and address of McClusky’s chambers in Watertown.
“The Judge’s chambers have received numerous vitriolic calls regarding the case, the vast majority from out of State, by individuals who know nothing about the facts and circumstances of the case, thanks to social media,” state court spokesman Lucian Chalfen wrote in an email.
Chalfen said the judge was “well within” the sentencing range for this type of negotiated plea conviction. The maximum state prison time he could have received would have been from 1 1/3 to 4 years, he said.
Jefferson County chief assistant district attorney Patricia Dziuba said all parties acted within the parameters set by law and that the prosecutor handling the case sought up to six months of jail time along with probation, supervision and treatment. She declined to criticize the judge’s sentence.
Piche didn’t make a statement during his sentencing.
Calls seeking comment were left Tuesday with McCluskey and Piche’s attorney, Eric Swartz.
“He’ll be a felon for the rest of his life. He’s on the sex offender registry for a long time,” Swartz told television station WWNY of Watertown.
The station said a victim impact statement given to them by the victim’s mother read, “I wish Shane Piche would have received time in jail for the harm he caused to my child. He took something from my daughter she will never get back and has caused her to struggle with depression and anxiety.”
Chelsea Miller, of the New York State Coalition Against Sexual Assault, said based on the mother’s statement, it’s possible that the judge and court officials didn’t understand the harm the survivor experienced.
“Unfortunately, this can discourage survivors who see jail or prison time as a form of accountability,” Miller said.
