RAPIST FREED TO SEE VICTIM'S BABY BORN.A JUDGE sparked outrage yesterday when he allowed a vicious rapist out of jail to see the birth of his victim's child.Arian Armstrong, 21, will be in the delivery room as the 13-year-old schoolgirl he raped gives birth by Caesarean section caesarean section: see cesarean section. . Armstrong, who was her mother's boyfriend, was released last week after a secret plea bargain plea bargain n. in criminal procedure, a negotiation between the defendant and his attorney on one side and the prosecutor on the other, in which the defendant agrees to plead "guilty" or "no contest" to some crimes, in return for reduction of the severity of the involving the mother. He could have faced 15 years in jail. At the original court case, the girl said: "I want him to stay in jail forever." Rape crisis groups say she should be spared the appalling ordeal. The girl, from Broward County, Florida Broward County is a county located in the U.S. state of Florida. As of 2000, the population is 1,623,018; this makes it the second most populated county in the state. According to 2006 U.S. Census estimates, its population had grown to 1,787,636 [1]. , in the US, was raped repeatedly by Armstrong last April when the mother left him to babysit her and three other kids. The court agreed he should be barred from contacting the girl, but ruled "he can be present for the birth of his child". Last night, a Sexual Assaults Centre spokesman said: "It is absolutely outrageous. This man rapes a 13-year-old girl and then he's allowed to attend the birth." Judge Marc Gold had appointed a guardian ad litem A guardian appointed by the court to represent the interests of Infants, the unborn, or incompetent persons in legal actions. Guardians are adults who are legally responsible for protecting the well-being and interests of their ward, who is usually a minor. for the girl - a neutral volunteer to protect her interests in court. But that person had no part in the deal. Guardian programme chief Jeanette Wagner said: "We are devastated dev·as·tate tr.v. dev·as·tat·ed, dev·as·tat·ing, dev·as·tates 1. To lay waste; destroy. 2. To overwhelm; confound; stun: was devastated by the rude remark. in terms of the lenient le·ni·ent adj. Inclined not to be harsh or strict; merciful, generous, or indulgent: lenient parents; lenient rules. sentence." Last week, Armstrong, who had been in jail since August, was sentenced to two years of community control and five years' probation. |
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