A Kansas judge blamed a pair of child sex abuse victims for being “more an aggressor” as he meted out a lenient sentence to a 67-year-old man that was below state guidelines.
Leavenworth County District Judge Michael Gibbens recently made the remark while sentencing Raymond Soden to five years and 10 months in prison for paying for sex with two girls, ages 13 and 14, whom he found on the internet, according to the Kansas City Star.
“I do find that the victims in this case, in particular, were more an aggressor than a participant in the criminal conduct,” Gibbens said at the December sentencing in a transcript obtained by the Star. “They were certainly selling things monetarily that it’s against the law for even an adult to sell.”
Under state guidelines, Soden faced a sentence of 13 or more years, which is what prosecutors requested. He has two prior convictions, including for battery and sexual battery.
A judge must find “substantial and compelling reasons” to depart from those guidelines. In Soden’s case, Gibbens pointed out that the teens had voluntarily gone to the perv’s home and exchanged money for sexual favors.
The judge seemed incredulous that the 13-year-old victim told authorities she felt “uncomfortable” over physical contact she had with Soden.
“And so she’s uncomfortable for something she voluntarily went to, voluntarily took her top off of, and was paid for?” he asked Deputy County Attorney Joan Lowdon.
“Yes, judge,” Lowdon answered, before pointing out, “She was also a 13-year-old who, under our laws, can’t consent to anything.”
Gibbens said he understood but then added, “I wonder what kind of trauma there really was to this victim under those peculiar circumstances.”
He also called the case “bizarre” and “unfathomable” and acknowledged that the girls were in a vulnerable position.
But then he cited the victims’ no-show at Soden’s sentencing as a reason why he believed they weren’t traumatized by the abuse.
“I think that a 13-year-old who offered what she offered for money is certainly an aggressor, particularly since she’s the one that had to travel to Mr. Soden,” the judge said.
Child sex abuse victims’ advocates ripped Gibbens for victim-blaming.
“These girls are minors, and are the victims, not the aggressors,” said Michelle Herman, the head of child advocacy group Sunflower House in Shawnee.
“Sexual assault is never the victim’s fault. It doesn’t matter what the girls did or didn’t do, he is still the adult and nobody deserves to be taken advantage of sexually.”
Prosecutors are considering appealing the sentence.