The Montana judge that recently issued a controversial sentence to a former teacher who raped one of his students says his ruling may actually be illegal and plans to adjust the sentence, according to CNN.
District Judge G. Todd Baugh filed a court order on Tuesday to schedule another hearing on Friday.
"The Defendant shall be present at argument as the Court, if necessary and appropriate, will amend the mandatory minimum portion of the sentence," the court order read. "In this Court's opinion, imposing a sentence which suspends more than the mandatory minimum would be an illegal sentence."
Judge Baugh sentenced Stacey Dean Rambold, 54, to 30 days in prison on Aug. 26 for raping Cherice Moralez when she was 14. After Moralez alerted police and watched her case was go through the legal process, she committed suicide shortly before her 17th birthday.
Moralez's family and protesters were infuriated over the short sentence which was followed by offensive remarks by Baugh while defended his ruling, saying the victim was "older than her chronological age" at the time of the rape and was "as much in control of the situation" as Rambold.
After the uproar, Baugh issued a public apology but made no indication of overturning his ruling.
"I don't know how to pass that off. I'm saying I'm sorry and it's not who I am," Baugh said. "I deserve to be chastised. I apologize for that," the scorned judge told the Billings Gazette.
Jay Lansing, the attorney for Rambold, responded positively to his client's sentence and said it was fair given Rambold lost his job and dealt with a ruined reputation in the community.
The case began in 2008 when Moralez was a student at Billings Senior High School and Rambold, then 49, was a teacher. After authorities were notified that the student was raped, Rambold resigned from teaching and he was subsequently charged with three counts of sexual assault without consent.
