Shane Piche has been handed 10 years probation, to the disgust of his young victim's mother, who says the assault has left her child battling serious mental health problems
A bus driver who admitted raping a 14 year-old girl he met while at work has avoided a jail sentence and been handed probation.
Shane Piche, 25, was sentenced to 10 years probation and ordered to register as a Level 1 sex offender, meaning he poses the lowest risk of re-offending.
He escaped with the light sentence after admitting third-degree rape, with his previously clean criminal record and the fact that there was a single victim contributing to the soft punishment.
The victim’s mother was among those upset by Piche’s sentence, WWNY reported, and told how the attack had harmed the girl’s mental health.
In a statement read to the court, she said: ‘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.’
Piche is said to have plied the youngster with alcohol before raping her at his home in Watertown, New York, the Watertown Daily Times reported.
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The date the offense took place has not been specified.
He has been banned from any contact with his victim, or any unsupervised conduct with anyone under the age of 17.
Afterwards, Piche’s defense attorney defended the sentence, saying: ‘He’ll be a felon for the rest of his life.
‘He’s on the sex offender registry for a long time.
‘Maybe not the rest of his life because of the level but this isn’t something that didn’t cause him pain and this isn’t something that didn’t have consequences.’
Piche has also been fired from his job as a bus driver.
