Judge in child rape case no longer believes in punishment

Can you believe this guy?

There was outrage Wednesday when a Vermont judge handed out a 60-day jail sentence to a man who raped a little girl many,many times over a four-year span starting when she was seven.

The judge said he no longer believes in punishment and is more concerned about rehabilitation.

Prosecutors argued that confessed child-rapist Mark Hulett, 34, of Williston deserved at least eight years behind bars for repeatedly raping a littler girl countless times starting when she was seven.

But Judge Edward Cashman disagreed explaining that he no longer believes that punishment works.

“The one message I want to get through is that anger doesn’t solve anything. It just corrodes your soul,” said Judge Edward Cashman speaking to a packed Burlington courtroom. Most of the on-lookers were related to a young girl who was repeatedly raped by Mark Hulett who was in court to be sentenced.

The sex abuse started when the girl was seven and ended when she was ten. Prosecutors were seeking a sentence of eight to twenty years in prison, in part, as punishment.

[…]

Judge Cashman also also revealed that he once handed down stiff sentences when he first got on the bench 25 years ago, but he no longer believes in punishment.

“I discovered it accomplishes nothing of value; it doesn’t make anything better; it costs us a lot of money; we create a lot of expectation, and we feed on anger,” Cashman explained to the people in the court.

Just how many times was this little girl raped at the hands of this sexual predator? From a story back in August of last year (emphasis added):

Hulett, 34, pled guilty to sexually assaulting a friend’s young daughter at least fifty times over a two year period, starting when the little girl was only seven.

What’s also scary to note is that the judge in this case, Judge Edward J. Cashman, was invited to teach a Friday class at Vermont Judicial College in 2003 – on “Prisoner Issues.”

A 60-day sentence for a confessed child-rapist … because the judge on the case no longer believes in punishment. Amazing.

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