Prosecutors said the defendant, later identified as 22-year-old Joseph, reportedly began communicating with the 11-year-old girl via an dating app. Eventually, their conversations became romantic in nature, and the girl agreed to meet up with the 22-year-old man at his home. Seizing the opportunity, he drove the child to his home, where the girl says she accidentally fell asleep. The girl told investigators that she felt strange when she woke up at the defendant’s apartment, feeling like something se-ual had happened to her.
A few weeks later, she told investigators that the defendant had se* with her, which the authorities confirmed through a DNA sample in the child’s underwear. Prosecutors also said that the girl tested positive for chlamidia, a se-ually transmitted disease. After pleading guilty to first-degree statutory ra-e, first-degree statutory so-omy, and child kidnapping, the 22-year-old defendant should’ve spent years in prison. However, the admitted child ra-ist won’t even see the inside of a prison cell thanks to the incredible deal he received. For pleading guilty to the ra-e and kidnapping, his charges were reduced to just one count of third-degree child molestation. Despite his charges being drastically reduced, he still faced 3 to 10 years in prison along with a $10,000 fine.
However, he was given only 5 years of supervised probation after the judge heard his disturbing excuse. The defendant told Judge Holden that he believed the 11-year-old girl was actually 18. Additionally, he blamed his child victim for the ra-e, claiming that he was essentially catfished by the girl after she told him online that she was older and her profile listed her as being 18. “He felt horrible about the entire incident,” his attorney, Pierson, said. “He’s going to be required to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life … It’s a tough case. Neither side is really going to get justice here.”
The prosecution later confirmed that it was “absolutely” impossible that the defendant believed the girl was 18 years old, as she was identifiably much younger from her physical features alone. Still, County Senior Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Fax believes that it was “willful ignorance” that led him to go ahead with the se-ual assault. Prosecutors recommended that he serve at least 120 days in a se* offender treatment program and up to 7 years in prison for his crimes. However, Judge Holden only gave him probation, allowing him to literally get away with the ra-e of a vulnerable child. Rulings like this send a strong message to rapists that they can get away with it.
