Petition demands Oklahoma judge is removed from the bench after 13-year-old girl’s rapist gets NO jail time
Marshall County District Judge Wallace Coppedge sentenced Benjamin Lawrence Petty to 15 years of probation for raping and sodomizing a 13-year-old
Petty, a cook at the Falls Creek church camp, asked the girl to his cabin in 2016, but when she arrived, he tied her up and raped her
The prosecutor put together a plea deal that sought probation rather than jail because Petty is blind
Coppedge explained that he approved the plea deal because the victim’s parents consented to the deal
But the victim’s attorney said they only agreed because they were told Petty ‘would not serve any meaningful prison time due to his medical conditions’
The prosecutor has since resigned and more than 100,000 people have signed a petition calling for the judge to be removed from the bench
By HANNAH PARRY
DAILYMAIL.COM
5 March 2018
More than 100,000 people are demanding an Oklahoma judge step down after he spared a child rapist jail.
The push comes amid revelations the judge had allowed convicted child rapists or pedophiles to avoid jail on at least seven previous occasions.
Marshall County District Judge Wallace Coppedge sentenced Benjamin Lawrence Petty to just 15 years of probation after he pleaded guilty to raping and sodomizing a 13-year-old at a church camp in 2016.
Petty, 36, a cook at the Falls Creek camp, had asked the girl to his cabin, telling her he wanted to show her something.
When she got to the cabin, he pulled her into the bedroom and shut the door, according to a lawsuit.
He then warned her not to tell anyone, or he would hurt her, the Washington Post reports.
The prosecutor, David Pyle, put together a plea deal, negotiated with the victim’s parents’ permission, that only sought probation because he felt that the suspect’s disability – Petty is legally blind – meant he shouldn’t go to jail.
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