Three adult teen-agers in Terre Haute drugged a 14-year old girl and took her to a hotel room where two of the men sexually assaulted the girl while the third man videotaped the assault on his cell phone and shared those images with others via the Internet. According to the original charging information, the men gave her a drug-laced gummy bear. The three men were originally faced a variety of felony charges ranging from sexual deviate conduct, sexual assault, child exploitation and possession of child pornography. As it turned out, the justice system was on their side in the final analysis.
The three men entered a plea agreement in a Vigo County courtroom yesterday where they were let off with much less serious charges. Perp 1, Peter Tanoos II (18), pleaded guilty to criminal recklessness and misdemeanor contributing to the delinquency of a minor. Being the one with the most prominent last name of the three, Tanoos got the lightest sentence, having to serve only 274 days on work release. Tanoos admitted the 14-year old girl was unaware of what was happening to her at the time of the assault.
Perp 2, Tucker Ray (18), pleaded guilty to criminal recklessness and contributing to the delinquency of a minor. He was sentenced to 730 days on work release. Like Tanoos, he admitted the girl was unaware of what was happening to her. Note that neither Tanoos nor Ray will be required to register as sex offenders.
Perp 3, Christopher Hayden (19), the odd man out and supposed friend of the 14-year old who did the videotaping of the sexual assault, was the only one to receive a prison sentence. He received an 18-month prison sentence, which has already been served, after pleading guilty to felony distribution of obscene material and misdemeanor contributing to the delinquency of a minor. All three men were required to read aloud public apologies to the girl in court, which you can read here at WTHI-TV's website.
6 comments:
There should have been serious jail time for all three of these criminals. All three are sex offenders and should be required to register as sex offenders.
The Judge(s) involved in the case could have rejected any/all of
the deals.
The wirthless Prosecutor really
ought to resign immediately
This is just a slap in the face to the victim. Why are they not having to register as sex offenders. That's what happens when you are related to the prosecutor. Pretty sad that the one with no political ties is the only one who was really punished. You are so right...justice Terre Haute style!
This is just a slap in the face to the victim. Why are they not having to register as sex offenders. That's what happens when you are related to the prosecutor. Pretty sad that the one with no political ties is the only one who was really punished. You are so right...justice Terre Haute style!
Ok, chill out. Only the prosecutor, defendants & defense attorneys know what factors went into negotiations in settling these cases. Perhaps the victim didn't want to be dragged through a trial. Perhaps she posted contradictory versions of the event online or via email to others. Perhaps she has prior convictions for crimes of dishonesty that can be used as impeachment. Perhaps the video -- to the average juror -- would contradict a claim of being drugged. We don't know, but these -- & many oth r s -- are all calculations that go into plea negotiations.
Carlos, In their public apologies, the defendants acknowledged that the victim was unaware of what was happening to her. She was 14. As you should know, she could not legally consent to sex with these adults even if she was aware of what was happening to her.
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