A former bus driver from Watertown City School District in New York State has pled guilty to raping a 14-year-old girl, and in turn has avoided prison time.
Shane Piche was a bus driver for the Watertown City School District in upstate New York last year. The mid-20s man met a 14-year-old girl while working as a driver.
Piche lured the young girl and her friends into his home and plied them with alcohol in June 2018. He proceeded to rape the girl. He was arrested in September.
Piche was initially charged with second-degree rape, first-degree unlawfully dealing with a child and endangering the welfare of a child by providing alcohol to the victim prior to the sexual assault.
In February, he pled guilty to third-degree rape — a lesser charge than second-degree rape.
He was expected to be labeled a Level 2 sex offender, which would require his address to be publicly available. However, Judge James P. McClusky ruled Piche a Level 1 sex offender and merely gave him 10 years probation.
As a Level 1 sex offender, Piche will not have to disclose his address to the public. He will have to pay $375 in court fees and $1,000 in sex offender registration fees.
The victim’s mother spoke out about McClusky’s shockingly light ruling.
“I wish Shane Piche would have received time in jail for the harm he caused to my child. He took something from my daughter she will never get back and has caused her to struggle with depression and anxiety.”
The public is also outraged at the judge’s decision. In fact, a petition to recall Judge McClusky has already obtained over 16,500 signatures.
People are also taking to Twitter to announce their shock and disgust at the judge’s ruling.
This is crazy. I would love to reach out to this little girl with some words of support and encouragement. If anyone knows how to reach the family, please let me know. https://t.co/zcP76S3k5j
— Alyssa Milano (@Alyssa_Milano) April 29, 2019
There was *only* ONE victim.
???????????????????? https://t.co/dDEyPm024v— Tarana (@TaranaBurke) April 30, 2019
Oh my God: https://t.co/a9neXmWH7t
— Soledad O'Brien (@soledadobrien) April 29, 2019
Shane Piche r*ped a 14 year old girl and judge James P. McClusky gave him no jail time because there was only one victim and no prior arrests. Spread his face and know his name. This is bullshit. pic.twitter.com/F4iNyH6dWy
— mal ????️???? (@alrightmallorie) April 28, 2019
This gets more unbelievable every time I hear about it.https://t.co/IRjWKN3bAe
— Nathan Dixon (@NathanD43) April 30, 2019
k so this is the worst thing i have seen all week ???? https://t.co/lMn3nyHZUm
— mandy ansari (@girlandthebay) April 30, 2019
Others can’t help but notice the correlation between Piche’s skin color and his lack of jail time.
Shane Piche, white, admitted to raping a 14 yr old girl. He will do NO jail time.
16 yr old Kaleif Browder, African American, spent 3 yrs on Rikers Island awaiting trial on an accusation that he stole a backpack. Much of the time was spent in solitary confinement. https://t.co/x6cDI01HJr
— Kristen Clarke (@KristenClarkeJD) April 29, 2019
This man Shane Piche raped a 14 year old girl on her bus route & the judge gave him ZERO JAIL TIME.
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•Crystal Mason got 5 years for accidentally voting
•Patrick Beadle got 8 years for medicinal potThis is white supremacy in our CJ system. Horrific.https://t.co/1T1gZ720MO pic.twitter.com/mhfblq4O5t
— Qasim Rashid, Esq. (@QasimRashid) April 28, 2019
I don't know who needs to hear this but YOUNG WHITE GUYS GET ONE FREE RAPE is an indefensible judicial stance. https://t.co/UOQFwjtK7h
— andi zeisler (@andizeisler) April 29, 2019
So…I happened to be working on a paper on sentencing disparity as I read the article about Shane Piche 's sentence today… just some food for thought based on the facts I could find about these sentences. #ShanePiche pic.twitter.com/H8Lqrf39uw
— Yunuen Trujillo (@YunuenTrujillo) April 30, 2019
Judge McClusky defended his ruling by pointing out the facts that Piche had no prior arrests and that there was only one victim.
Apparently, rapists are only guilty if they rape a lot.
