The US Justice System Strikes Again

For the past year, the Kyle Rittenhouse case has dominated national attention. Criminal trials are complicated, so for many (myself included) it's hard to follow more than one. But the unfortunate reality of the times we live in is that awful things are common, and accountability is rare. Today, I want to look at another case of injustice in our justice system, but in a slightly different flavor.

Christopher Belter is a 20-year rapist that, in 2019, was charged with first and third degree rape and sexual assault. He pled guilty of attempted first-degree sexual abuse, third-degree rape, and two counts of second-degree sexual abuse. The crimes occurred from 2017-2018, while Belter was 16-17. His victims were three 16-year-old girls and one 15-year-old girl. Judge Sara Sheldon gave Belter the chance to be tried as a youth if he didn't break a two-year probation (she didn't think he could do it). Yeah... he broke probation. Sheldon has retired since ordering the delayed sentencing. The new presiding judge, Matthew Murphy, gave Belter his sentence just a few days before Kyle Rittenhouse was found not guilty. Rapist Christopher Belter was sentenced to... eight years' probation. Yep. But don't worry, Murphy "agonized" over his decision, and ultimately came to this punishment (if you can even call it that) after praying on it.

This whole disgusting situation is a good example of just how many things are fucked in our legal system. Let's start with convicted rapist Christopher Belter. Rapist Christopher Belter, unsurprisingly, is a rich, white boy. His whole life, people didn't tell him no. When they did, he'd tell them to stop being a baby and, "Stop resisting, it'll hurt less." Despite this, Judge Murphy, a 70-year-old Democrat who ran unopposed in 2017, justified his sentence by referencing how remorseful Belter looked during one of his victim's heartbreaking testimony. Belter didn't even have to pretend to cry.

Based on all that, you might be shocked to hear that rapist Christopher Belter's parents aren't exactly innocent either. Oh, you're not surprised? Yeah, neither was I. Belter's mother, Tricia Vacanti, his stepfather, Gary Sullo, and a family friend, Jessica Long, have all been accused of serving alcohol and marijuana to minors during the parties Belter threw at their house. These parties are where Belter was able to prey on his victims. Vacanti is also accused of grooming Belter's victims by offering them these substances and through personal, private communication. All three adults have pled not guilty and have yet to be tried. Sullo is the CEO of Tramec LLC, which manufactures parts for heavy-duty trucking and brings in over $100 million annually. I've seen some people report that Vacanti is a lawyer at her own private practice, but I haven't been able to verify that myself.

Based on similar cases in the past (Brock Turner, anyone?), I think it's pretty safe to assume that rapist Christopher Belter's wealth and status made him seem a lot more sympathetic to Murphy. Speaking of, let's talk about our judge a bit. His full name is the Honorable Matthew J. Murphy III, which just makes sense. Murphy and Schroeder (the judge for the Rittenhouse trial) are just two of the many government officials that don't seem to understand (or care about) the consequences of their actions. Schroeder played on his phone and constantly shared his opinion during Rittenhouse's trial, while Murphy waxed on about how affected he was by the victims' experiences, only to let rapist Christopher Belter, who's already broken probation once, walk out with probation. Again. As an aside, Belter's court-appointed psychiatrist said that Belter has a high chance of assaulting someone again. Don't be surprised if you hear his name again in a couple of years.

Lastly, if you know me, you know that separation of church and state is extremely important to me, and the lack of it in practice is extremely infuriating. I could write an essay about how deeply religion, particularly Christianity, has fucked up our country (I actually have, and probably will again), but I'll keep it brief here. Sentencing for crimes should be done based on precedent and severity of the crimes, not whatever your god of choice thinks is cool. No exceptions. If you ask me, raping four young girls is pretty fucking severe.

Thanks to Alyssa Boyd for sending me an article about this; I would've completely missed it otherwise. If there's something you think I should look into or want to know my thoughts on, feel free to send it my way. Thanks for reading.