Fury Over Lenient Sentence in Incest Rape Case.
PAUL: I don't know if you've heard about this one, but fury erupts towards a Montana judge who sentenced a man to just 60 days in jail for an incestuous rape case. This man, District Judge John McKeon, imposed a two-month sentence plus probation to a man who repeatedly raped his own 12-year-old daughter. The defendant pled guilty to felony incest. Judge McKeon gave him a suspended 30-year sentence that he will not serve as long as he successfully completes probation, including a sex offender treatment program and no unsupervised contact with minors. CNN is not releasing the name of this defendant to protect his victim's identity, but we are talking it over with CNN Legal Analyst and Criminal Defense Attorney, Danny Cevallos. So Danny, we know that the prosecution recommended a 25-year sentence. This man, with time served credit, is only going to spend about 43 days in jail. How did this happen? And what is your reaction?</s>DANNY CEVALLOS, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: The simple answer is it happened because it's the law. You know, I may surprise you here, Christi. We're entering a new era where when judges give out legal sentences authorized by the legislature, there is immediately a change.org petition demanding that they step down or calls for impeachment. The Montana legislature allows a sentencing range for this crime of 4 years to 100 years. And then within that, the judge can suspend all but 30 days of a sentence when it comes to incest. So, it appears that as long as he puts his reasons on the record and they're good reasons, under the law, and by that, I mean, what the law allows, this was a legal sentence. And in fact, he could have suspended an additional 30 days and made it even lighter. So, while I understand the shock and outrage, the shock and outrage should be directed at the legislature, because our judges are designed to be independent from the angers and the disappointment of the rabble. And I know that, because as a defense attorney, I am frequently upset with the sentence a judge gives.</s>PAUL: OK, are you upset over this one?</s>CEVALLOS: It does seem like a light sentence.</s>CEVALLOS: But, if you look at Montana law, so long as a health care professional testifies that the offender would be better suited for treatment in the community than treatment in prison -- remember, with sex offenders, the vast majority of them will return to the streets. So the question is, what are we going to do with them? Are we going to get them the rehabilitation they need? Or are we just going to send them to Shawshank, where they could become even worse offenders in prison? Sex offenders are a deplorable -- it's a deplorable crime, but they're also a segment of society that are -- they will return to the public, the vast majority of them.</s>PAUL: Well, and the other thing I think that was disturbing about this for some people is the fact that the victim's mother asked for leniency here. She wrote a statement about the defendant saying that he needs help, he has two sons that still love him. Please give him the opportunity to work on fixing the relationships he destroyed. He's not a monster, just a man that really screwed up and has been paying in many ways. But when we look at this, what does this say to the victim, Danny?</s>CEVALLOS: Well, clearly, this is a family that is going to have issues going forward, because this crime has ruptured the familial relationship. And I -- I mean I can only imagine the discomfort and anguish they're going through. But, you know, in terms of a sentencing hearing, where you have family members and where there's demonstrated support in the community for an offender, judges take that into account. And they can take that into account, because at a sentencing hearing, especially with a huge range like this, almost anything can happen. And if it's a legal sentence, it is a legal sentence.</s>PAUL: All right. Danny Cevallos, we appreciate it. Thank you for walking us through it. A lot more news to tell you about this morning, as well.</s>BLACKWELL: Next hour starts after this break.