Woman slams Denver judge for giving rapist 45 days in jail despite DNA evidence, witness confirming assault
A woman has come forth slamming a verdict that a Denver District Court judge handed her rapist—a mere 45 days in jail.
On July 12, Denver District Court Judge John Madden sentenced 29-year-old Jared Bates to 45 days behind bars with 5 years of probation for sexually assaulting 31-year-old Maria Crow.
The ruling came after Bates allegedly agreed to plead guilty to charges of attempted sexual assault, Fox 31 reported.
However, since Bates had already served 47 days in jail, he was immediately released.
In the incident that occurred on June 23, 2018, Bates and Crow had been drinking at her place when she passed out. Bates was her bother's best friend.
It was when Crow's brother Michael had come home that he saw Bates standing over his sister, knife in hand and zipping up his pants while putting his genitalia back in.
Michael had freaked out and called the police because she "wasn't breathing".
He was arrested almost immediately and charged with 6 counts by the DA, including sexual assault of a helpless victim.
The case was rock solid. They had DNA evidence and Michael had witnessed the crime.
They even negotiated a plea deal that would put him behind bars for at least three years, the publication reported.
However, when the time came to send him there, the judge let him go with a slap on the wrist. He had allegedly cut a deal with the prosecutors.
"I want women to know his face, I want them to know his (Bates') name. I want them to know the judge's name, I want them to know that he (Madden) decided how this was going to go," Crow told the news outlet. "I had DNA on my clothes. I had DNA on my face. I had residue all over my body. My pants were down.... And my brother walking in and he was the witness to the crime," she said.
A spokeswoman for the Denver District Attorney Office told FOX31 Problem Solvers in an email that their office had negotiated a plea agreement, that the victim had approved—"and which called for Jared Bates to serve up to three years in prison. At sentencing, we requested a three-year prison sentence."
Crow said that although she didn't blame the prosecutors. She regretted not taking her chances at a jury trial. "After hearing all the details of this case, I cannot see 12 people looking at me [and saying] I deserve something like this," Crow said.