Outgoing Kentucky Gov Matt Bevin pardons man convicted of raping 9-year-old girl raising eyebrows
Kentucky Governor Matt Bevin has vacated the sentence of a man who was convicted of raping a child in a move that left prosecutors bewildered and was described as an "irresponsible manipulation of the justice system."
Bevin, on his last day in office before making way for Democrat Andy Beshear, pardoned Micah Schoettle, 41, who was sentenced more than two decades behind bars last year over the rape of a nine-year-old girl, according to the Cincinnati Enquirer.
The 52-year-old wrote in his pardon and commutation order that Schoettle was convicted "based only on testimony that was not supported by any physical evidence." He said he did not believe that "the charges against Mr. Schoettle are true because the case was "investigated and prosecuted in a manner that was sloppy at best."
Schoettle had been convicted of charges that included rape and sexual abuse by a Kenton County jury and was sentenced to 23 years in prison by Kenton Circuit Judge Patricia M. Summer last year.
Prosecutors involved in the case said the decision to pardon the 41-year-old had come as a complete surprise to them and questioned Bevin's reasoning.
"So, I guess Matt Bevin thinks he’s smarter than the 12 citizens that heard the actual evidence," said Kenton County Commonwealth's Attorney Rob Sanders. "I’ve got news for him: Child molesting rarely happens in front of witnesses or leaves physical evidence. If we didn’t pursue those cases, 99% of child rapists would never be prosecuted."
The prosecutors' office said in a statement that the victim had testified at the trial and described how Schoettle had sexually assaulted her. They also said two medical experts had testified, Dr. Kathi Makoroff from Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center and Dr. Stuart Bassman, who specializes in the psychology of sexual assault.
Sanders said Bevin's pardon just regurgitated false statements from the defense attorneys that the juries "obviously did not believe."
"This irresponsible manipulation of the justice system is why the public’s confidence is constantly eroded," he argued. "No one from the Bevin administration gave any warning this was coming. If they had, we’d have shown them why these rapists and killers were behind bars to begin with."
Bevins issued a total of 428 pardons and commutations from election day, when he lost, to the end of his term this past week, including one for a man who was convicted of sexually abusing and sodomizing his six-year-old stepdaughter.