NEW YORK – A former New York school bus driver was reportedly sentenced to probation last Thursday after he admitted to raping a student.
Shane Piche, 26, pleaded guilty to third-degree rape in February, according to the Watertown Daily Times. He received 10 years of probation and must register as a sex offender.
The man, who drove for the Watertown City School District, admitted as part of a plea deal to raping a 14-year-old girl he met while driving. The incident reportedly occurred at his residence.
The Jefferson County District Attorney’s Office argued that Piche should be considered a Level 2 sex offender on the state’s sex offender registry — considered a “medium risk of re-offense.”
However, the judge had a different opinion.
Judge James McClusky said since Piche didn’t have a criminal record and there was only one victim, he would be considered Level 1, or at a “low risk of re-offense,” according to the news agency.
Piche, who was also reportedly charged for giving the girl alcohol, was also ordered not to be alone with anyone under 17 years old.
The victim’s mother in a statement to WWNY-TV said she “wish[es] Shane Piche would have received jail time 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.”
“He’ll be a felon for the rest of his life,” Piche’s attorney, Eric Swartz said. “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.”
