Beau Maurice Gormley, 33, was arrested in Ozark, Missouri, for raping a 16-year-old girl while working as the manager of a now-defunct restaurant. He pled guilty to having sex with the young girl in the Third Street Pasta and Grill kitchen, which the victim claimed she did since Beau instructed her to and he was her employer and she needed to maintain her job.
Rape is an unacceptable crime for the vast majority of people. Sexual assaults against women and kids are particularly repulsive to even the most hardened criminals and are considered as such. Sadly, the sitting judge was not one of them.
Gormley was sentenced to a 120-day sex offender treatment before being released on probation for the offence of statutory rape. Although he finished the treatment program, the registered sex offender’s criminal spree was only getting started.
He savagely raped his children’s mother just 34 days after being discharged from the sex offense evaluation center. Despite being convicted guilty of his second rape, the presiding judge decided he should not even be allowed to enter a jail cell.
Gormley was sentenced to five years probation for his second rape by Green County Circuit Court Judge Calvin R. Holden after his probation officer and sex abuse program counselor convinced him that he was “making progress in his rehabilitation.”
Despite prosecutors’ plea for the maximum seven years in jail, Judge Holden sentenced Gormley to probation since he seemed to be progressing in treatment. Holden, on the other hand, overlooked the fact that Gormley raped his second victim after finishing a similar program aimed at rehabilitating sex offenders.
Prosecutor Elizabeth Fax expressed her displeasure with Judge Holden’s decision, noting that Gormley’s second violation happened while he was on probation. This is not his first rodeo, she stated implying that he will reoffend within the next five years.
Coatney, on the other hand, dismissed the notion that his client would perpetrate the same crime a third time, stating that when Gormley raped the second girl, he hadn’t yet completed this specific treatment program. He told Gormley that if he breaks probation again, he will face a substantial jail sentence, much to the chagrin of critics.
Obviously, the majority of comments are unfavorable of the judge’s judgment. Indeed, others have suggested that the verdict not only puts other women at risk, but it may also prevent victims from coming forward in the first place.
According to Bartel, victims may opt to remain silent about their abuse since they have witnessed how the lengthy and difficult procedure of the court system is ineffective.
For the time being, Beau Gormley is free to wander the streets, potentially looking for his next victim. This sort of unfairness conveys the message to offenders that they may re-offend without worry of more than a slap on the wrist.
The most unsettling aspect of Gormley’s case is that two women have discovered that the legal system does not always give justice. Unfortunately, Gormley survives to offend again, while his victims must face the long-term consequences of his actions.
