The survivor of a serial rapist who received probation joins us to speak out after a New York judge sparked international outrage when he ruled it is inappropriate to jail the man who attacked her. Christopher Belter pleaded guilty to raping and sexually assaulting her along with three other teenage girls age 15 and 16, but he will avoid serving time in prison, and instead receive 8 years of probation. Belter is white, and from a prominent family who lives in a wealthy neighborhood near Niagara Falls. “This sentencing is telling rapists it’s OK to rape and telling victims that there’s no point in coming forward,” says Mara. Her lawyer Steven Cohen of the HoganWillig law firm notes a non-white defendant who pleaded guilty to these crimes would “absolutely and appropriately be in prison.”
This post was originally published on Democracy Now!.
