Accused rapist will not serve time; Alford plea

https://www.richmond.com/news/virgin...33a2f961e.html

Quote:

Baril’s initial charges of felony rape and felony sodomy were reduced to misdemeanor sexual battery and felony unlawful wounding, respectively. The maximum prison sentence Baril could have faced was five years, all of which Judge Humes J. Franklin suspended. Baril, 21, will be on supervised probation for five years and is not allowed to have any contact with the victim or key witnesses. If the case had gone to trial with the initial charges, Baril would have faced a mandatory minimum prison sentence of 10 years.

The underlined is no surprise, I suppose.

Quote:

She said that after 17 months, she has rebuilt her life and that she agreed to a plea deal because she did not want to endure a trial and relive the trauma.

Since I've never been assaulted, I can't say that she is wrong for agreeing to a plea deal.

Quote:

The judge accepted the plea agreement, which he deemed to be a fair compromise, in part because neither party was happy with it.

I wonder how much a judge hears from anyone other than the lawyers when they approve a deal like this.

Ranb

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