Man gets no jail time for drugging and raping wife

[merithyn]

 Luckily, the judge is up for re-election this year. Since this is Indiana, though, he'll probably get re-elected easily. After all, it couldn't have been rape-rape. They were married.

LINK

An Indianapolis man convicted of raping his wife while she was asleep was sentenced Friday to eight years of home detention.

The sentence for 52-year-old David Wise, which came about two weeks after a jury trial late last month, is far more lenient than the minimum punishment on the crimes of which he was convicted.

After a two-day trial and several hours of deliberation, the jury found Wise guilty of one count of rape and five counts of criminal deviate conduct — all of which are Class B felonies, each punishable by six to 20 years in prison.

Catherine O'Connor, president and CEO of the Julian Center, which serves victims of domestic violence, said the sentence in Wise's case concerns her because it "might discourage other victims to report and pursue cases against people who commit violent crimes."

Wise was charged in 2011, after the woman told police that she had found sex videos of her on her now ex-husband's cellphone. The woman, 36, said she has no memory of the sex, of consenting to it or of the videos being taken.

The Indianapolis Star is not naming the woman because it typically does not identify people who are or may have been victims of sexual assault.

Marion Superior Court Judge Kurt Eisgruber imposed a 20-year sentence, with 12 years suspended and eight years executed through home detention. Wise also will be on two years of probation after the home detention is completed. In Indiana, a person on home detention is placed on a monitoring device and should be on constant supervision.

Peg McLeish, spokeswoman for the Marion County prosecutor's office, said the state asked the judge for a sentence that involves some prison time. She said the woman, who was not immediately available for an interview, is disappointed that Wise will not be incarcerated. A call to Wise's defense attorney, Elizabeth Milliken, was not returned Friday.

Eisgruber declined to comment on the sentence.

Jack Crawford, an Indianapolis defense attorney and former Lake County prosecutor, said he cannot comment specifically on the case, but generally, judges consider several factors in deciding on a sentence. A defendant's criminal history, employment status and likelihood of committing another crime are among those considerations.

"There's a multitude of factors in deciding what the fairest sentence is for all concerned," Crawford said, adding that Eisgruber has a reputation for being firm but fair in his sentencing.

Marc Mauer, executive director of The Sentencing Project, a Washington-based nonprofit that focuses on reforms of sentencing policy, said judges determine the risk to the public and to victims when they're deciding whether or not to incarcerate a defendant. Judges also consider whether a sentence could deter a person or others from committing a crime, he said.

"Rehabilitation is the other," Mauer said. "Would incarceration or living in the community make this person more or less likely to repeat this kind of behavior?"

Wise, who has no prior felony convictions, was married to the woman for 12 years. They were divorced in 2009.

In her testimony during a two-day trial last month, the woman said she had awoken several times when she was married to Wise feeling like her body had been "messed with." She told detectives she believed Wise had been drugging her since 2005. At one point, according to court documents, she said she woke up in the middle of the night with a pill dissolving in her mouth.

The assaults, based on the dates on the smartphone videos, happened in 2008. The woman went to police in 2011 with a copy of the videos. In her testimony in court, the woman said she didn't come forward sooner because she didn't want her two children, a son and a daughter, to grow up without a father.

Unlike most cases that are reported long after the alleged acts occurred, the woman's story is backed by video evidence, which, experts say, is a rarity among sexual assault cases that often rely solely on the victim's word against the word of the defendant.]An Indianapolis man convicted of raping his wife while she was asleep was sentenced Friday to eight years of home detention.

The sentence for 52-year-old David Wise, which came about two weeks after a jury trial late last month, is far more lenient than the minimum punishment on the crimes of which he was convicted.

After a two-day trial and several hours of deliberation, the jury found Wise guilty of one count of rape and five counts of criminal deviate conduct — all of which are Class B felonies, each punishable by six to 20 years in prison.

Catherine O'Connor, president and CEO of the Julian Center, which serves victims of domestic violence, said the sentence in Wise's case concerns her because it "might discourage other victims to report and pursue cases against people who commit violent crimes."

Wise was charged in 2011, after the woman told police that she had found sex videos of her on her now ex-husband's cellphone. The woman, 36, said she has no memory of the sex, of consenting to it or of the videos being taken.

The Indianapolis Star is not naming the woman because it typically does not identify people who are or may have been victims of sexual assault.

Marion Superior Court Judge Kurt Eisgruber imposed a 20-year sentence, with 12 years suspended and eight years executed through home detention. Wise also will be on two years of probation after the home detention is completed. In Indiana, a person on home detention is placed on a monitoring device and should be on constant supervision.

Peg McLeish, spokeswoman for the Marion County prosecutor's office, said the state asked the judge for a sentence that involves some prison time. She said the woman, who was not immediately available for an interview, is disappointed that Wise will not be incarcerated. A call to Wise's defense attorney, Elizabeth Milliken, was not returned Friday.

Eisgruber declined to comment on the sentence.

Jack Crawford, an Indianapolis defense attorney and former Lake County prosecutor, said he cannot comment specifically on the case, but generally, judges consider several factors in deciding on a sentence. A defendant's criminal history, employment status and likelihood of committing another crime are among those considerations.

"There's a multitude of factors in deciding what the fairest sentence is for all concerned," Crawford said, adding that Eisgruber has a reputation for being firm but fair in his sentencing.

Marc Mauer, executive director of The Sentencing Project, a Washington-based nonprofit that focuses on reforms of sentencing policy, said judges determine the risk to the public and to victims when they're deciding whether or not to incarcerate a defendant. Judges also consider whether a sentence could deter a person or others from committing a crime, he said.

"Rehabilitation is the other," Mauer said. "Would incarceration or living in the community make this person more or less likely to repeat this kind of behavior?"

Wise, who has no prior felony convictions, was married to the woman for 12 years. They were divorced in 2009.

In her testimony during a two-day trial last month, the woman said she had awoken several times when she was married to Wise feeling like her body had been "messed with." She told detectives she believed Wise had been drugging her since 2005. At one point, according to court documents, she said she woke up in the middle of the night with a pill dissolving in her mouth.

The assaults, based on the dates on the smartphone videos, happened in 2008. The woman went to police in 2011 with a copy of the videos. In her testimony in court, the woman said she didn't come forward sooner because she didn't want her two children, a son and a daughter, to grow up without a father.

Unlike most cases that are reported long after the alleged acts occurred, the woman's story is backed by video evidence, which, experts say, is a rarity among sexual assault cases that often rely solely on the victim's word against the word of the defendant.

[derspiess]

Luckily, the judge is up for re-election this year. Since this is Indiana, though, he'll probably get re-elected easily.

[DGuller]

There is enough blame to go around.  In a functional marriage, the wife should put out without the man needing to resort to drugging her.

[merithyn]

There is enough blame to go around.  In a functional marriage, the wife should put out without the man needing to resort to drugging her.

Technically, he drugged her because she was "snippy". The rape came later.

[merithyn]

Luckily, the judge is up for re-election this year. Since this is Indiana, though, he'll probably get re-elected easily.

The "rape culture" is pretty strong there...

Indiana lawmakers investigate alarming sexual assault statistics

[derspiess]

The "rape culture" is pretty strong there...

Uh, if you say so...

[garbon]

I don't really want to speak to this case (I've actually been avoiding articles I saw on it ) but on a tangent - I'm not sure how home detention works. I wouldn't want to go to jail - but I don't know how I'd not screw up being a prisoner in my home for 8 months.

Actually I'm wondering if you could be like - okay but first I'm moving my "home." My current apt isn't larger enough to accommodate, 8 years of at-home stay.

[DGuller]

There is enough blame to go around.  In a functional marriage, the wife should put out without the man needing to resort to drugging her.

Technically, he drugged her because she was "snippy". The rape came later.

Ok, that does sound bad.

[Valmy]

Rape is just a baffling thing to me.  Supposedly it is just slightly less bad than murder but man it sure easy to get out of it and nobody seems particularly eager to enforce it.  I have speculated that perhaps the penalties should be less draconian...but at the end of the day it is still a felony.  Also it has all these damn gray areas since people consent to sex all the time but rarely consent to being killed.  It is a serious problem but I have no idea what there is to be done about it.

[Razgovory]

If I could just drug people who were snippy at me, there would be a lot less violence in the world.

[merithyn]

I don't really want to speak to this case (I've actually been avoiding articles I saw on it ) but on a tangent - I'm not sure how home detention works. I wouldn't want to go to jail - but I don't know how I'd not screw up being a prisoner in my home for 8 months.

Actually I'm wondering if you could be like - okay but first I'm moving my "home." My current apt isn't larger enough to accommodate, 8 years of at-home stay.

He's allowed to go to work (if he has a job), and I think do "normal" things like going to the grocery store. But he's required to be in his house for something like 12 hours a day or something like that.

[Valmy]

I don't really want to speak to this case (I've actually been avoiding articles I saw on it ) but on a tangent - I'm not sure how home detention works. I wouldn't want to go to jail - but I don't know how I'd not screw up being a prisoner in my home for 8 months.

Actually I'm wondering if you could be like - okay but first I'm moving my "home." My current apt isn't larger enough to accommodate, 8 years of at-home stay.

He's allowed to go to work (if he has a job), and I think do "normal" things like going to the grocery store. But he's required to be in his house for something like 12 hours a day or something like that.

Well I guess that kind of sucks if he likes to go on vacations but otherwise meh.

[garbon]

I don't really want to speak to this case (I've actually been avoiding articles I saw on it ) but on a tangent - I'm not sure how home detention works. I wouldn't want to go to jail - but I don't know how I'd not screw up being a prisoner in my home for 8 months.

Actually I'm wondering if you could be like - okay but first I'm moving my "home." My current apt isn't larger enough to accommodate, 8 years of at-home stay.

He's allowed to go to work (if he has a job), and I think do "normal" things like going to the grocery store. But he's required to be in his house for something like 12 hours a day or something like that.

Oh that doesn't sound bad at all then. Comment withdrawn.

[derspiess]

I don't really want to speak to this case (I've actually been avoiding articles I saw on it ) but on a tangent - I'm not sure how home detention works. I wouldn't want to go to jail - but I don't know how I'd not screw up being a prisoner in my home for 8 months.

Actually I'm wondering if you could be like - okay but first I'm moving my "home." My current apt isn't larger enough to accommodate, 8 years of at-home stay.

It would be even worse if you found out your neighbor was a serial murderer.

[DGuller]

Rape is just a baffling thing to me.  Supposedly it is just slightly less bad than murder but man it sure easy to get out of it and nobody seems particularly eager to enforce it.  I have speculated that perhaps the penalties should be less draconian...but at the end of the day it is still a felony.  Also it has all these damn gray areas since people consent to sex all the time but rarely consent to being killed.  It is a serious problem but I have no idea what there is to be done about it.

I think a big part of the problem is rape outrage exhaustion.  Too many acts that are not "decades of prison sentence" terrible are being called rape, so it's easy to become cynical about the whole concept.