Judge John McKeon faces call for impeachment after incest sentencing

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Judge John McKeon faces call for impeachment after incest sentencing
Judge John McKeon faces call for impeachment after incest sentencing

Judge John McKeon is facing a backlash after he sentenced a man who pleaded guilty to repeatedly raping his 12-year-old daughter to just 60 days in jail.

District Judge John McKeon last week sentenced the 40-year-old Glasgow man, whose name is being withheld to protect his daughter’s identity, to 30 years in prison. The Flathead Beacon reported that the majority of the sentence was set aside, and the defendant was ordered to serve just 60 days in jail.

With credit for 17 days already served, the man’s sentence boiled down to 43 days in jail. He also must register as a sex offender, is forbidden from accessing pornography and can have only limited access to the internet, the Beacon reported.

As of Thursday afternoon, the Change.org petition seeking McKeon’s removal from the bench had collected more than 51,000 signatures. The petition castigates McKeon for his “horrible” decision.

“This is not what the prosecution wanted. They had made a deal with the father that would give him a 100-year sentence, with 75 years suspended, for the repeated rapes,” the petition reads. “That would have put the father in jail for 25 years. Judge McKeon ignored what the prosecution recommended, and did what he thought was best for the rapist instead of the victim.”

McKeon said in a statement, however, that Valley County prosecutors did not challenge a psychosexual evaluation that found that the defendant could be safely treated and supervised in the community, the Beacon reported. The plea agreement recommending the 25-year sentence allowed for a lesser sentence, depending on the results of the evaluation, the judge said.

McKeon said his critics also fail to understand a Montana law that allows an exception to the mandatory 25-year prison sentence for incest involving someone age 12 or younger if an evaluation finds that treatment “affords a better opportunity for rehabilitation of the offender and for the ultimate protection of the victim and society.”

The victim’s mother and grandmother also wrote letters asking that the girl’s father not be sent to prison, McKeon said.

CNN reported that the mother wrote that while the defendant made “horrible” choices, he needs help, not prison.

“He needs help,” she wrote to the court about her husband. “He has two sons that still love him and need their father in their lives, even with very understandable restrictions. I would like to see my children have an opportunity to heal the relationship with their father. Please give him the opportunity to work on fixing the relationships he destroyed. He is not a monster, just a man that really screwed up and has been paying in many ways.”

The victim’s grandmother said the defendant’s children, particularly his sons, would be “devastated” if their father was no longer in their lives.

Deputy Valley County Attorney Dylan Jensen pointed out that the girl’s family declined to testify at trial. Jensen said no one spoke up on her behalf during the sentencing hearing, the Beacon reported.

11 COMMENTS

  1. This is exactly how most republicans are. They criticize everyone who breaks the law, but when its one of theirs (white “christians”) they say “oh he is a good guy, he doesn’t deserve this or that”. They criticize everyone else for doing the same thing; like when young black men are murdered by the cops for something insignificant and their families say “he was a good guy” blah blah blah. The “people” that call themselves christians are ANYTHING BUT, and this is proof of that. This is just more evidence, proof-positive, that all republicans endorse or accept child molesting as a part of their “god-given” rights. I say we kill all child molesters (80 percent being white christian men, married with children ((republicans))) Its no surprise though, these fascist hypocrites only want things when they want them; law-and-order, common decency, most of all, democracy. I’m gonna go out on a limb and say this guy is probably a fat sack of sh!t too, like most GOP; Greedy Obese Pedophiles.

  2. This man should be not only be put in prison, but in Gen Pop to live with all those great guys who love to have their way with child rapists especially the ones that abuse their own children.
    The Judge in this case should be put in the same cell. How could he EVER think this not worth more than 60 days? This child was only12 years old.
    Maybe it will be better for him on the street someone going deer hunting might accidently kill him.
    Problem solved.

  3. The judge should have seen that this case was “bad voodoo, ” so to speak from the minute he saw it… Where in THE WORLD WAS THE DA ? ? ? ?

  4. THIS IS A GREAT TRAGEDY FOR THE VICTIM AND ONLY THE VICTIM. I CAN NOT HELP BUT POINT THE FACT OUT THAT IF I A BLACK MAN WAS ACCUSED OF THE SAME THING PLEADING GUILTY OR NOT, I WOULD NO DOUBT RECEIVE THE FULL 75 YEARS BEFORE THE REDUCTION AND STILL SERVE THE FULL 25. TO ANYONE THAT DISCREDITS MY ARGUMENT, I URGE YOU TO TAKE A LOOK IN THE MIRROR AND OPEN UP A HISTORY BOOK.

  5. As an adult survivor of incest. I can see the reasoning behind this sentence. It was a blessing for my family that there was no mandatory minimum sentencing when my abuse took place. While a lot of sex offenders re-offend NOT ALL DO! The guy already has a life sentence being a registered sex offender (which I don’t agree with except after a psychological review, or for repeat offenders with either violence, or more than one victim.) I have met more than one so called sex offender that after intense counseling, AND spiritual guidance have never re-offended. My abuser was lucky and never listed on the registry. Others were not and have been sentenced to homelessness, violence, and all other kinds of abuses because of being on the registry. When did we be come God and have the right to sentence a person to a live of hell for a big mistake. Far too many people especially males end up on the registry. Not all sex offenders are the same. And a life sentence on the registry is wrong. Yes, I am not stupid either as a former prison worker I realize that there are some truly evil people that deserve to never be free again. Or need to be on the registry for life. But if one is not blinded by hate, and anger. It is usually very obvious after a very short time who is truly evil. I know no one is perfect we all make mistakes some of them are very, very big. In this country we send too many people especially young males to jail for way to long time.

  6. The mother and grandmother are enabler. There is no help for a rapist. Poor girl. Her biggest disservices is from her mother and grandmother that are protecting her offender.

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