Bill Keating’s Troubling Record on Rape
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Bill Keating’s Troubling Record on Rape
After Boasting About “Making our Communities Safer and Stronger” it Turns out Bill Keating Had a Knack for Letting Violent Sex Offenders Off the Hook Washington- As Bill Keating desperately launches personal attacks to salvage his flailing campaign, his shameful history of dealing with violent sex offenders has come to the forefront. Keating’s record shows that he is anything but a law-and-order candidate as he has repeatedly let law-breakers off the hook for egregious crimes like rape. An investigative report even found that defendants who pleaded guilty to rape during Keating’s tenure as prosecutor in Norfolk County served less than half the time in prison as they would in neighboring Plymouth County. “Bill Keating’s inexcusable record as District Attorney makes him wholly unfit to serve as a member of Congress,” said NRCC spokeswoman Joanna Burgos. “With a record of repeatedly letting rapists off the hook and delivering soft sentences to some of society’s most appalling criminals, Keating is left without a leg to stand on in this campaign. Keating’s history of essentially giving rapists a free pass is deplorable and should disqualify him from consideration as a representative for Massachusetts families.”
In multiple cases, District Attorney Bill Keating dropped rape charges and allowed these criminals to plead guilty to lesser charges. In one case, Keating’s office allowed two men charged with rape to plead guilty to lesser charges and avoid having to register as sex offenders. “The Patriot Ledger examined 20 Norfolk County cases disposed of through plea agreements in which a defendant was initially charged with forcible rape or attempted rape. The actual rape charge was dropped 13 Times. Defendants instead pleaded guilty to lesser charges such as indecent assault and battery, or simple assault and battery. Compare that to Plymouth County, where forcible rape ar attempted rape charges stuck in 9 of the 11 pleas reviewed by the tedger.” (Karen Eschbacher, “Investigative Report; Bargaining For Justice; Do A Crime, Serve Less Time In Norfolk. DAs Take Different Routes To Justice,” The Patriot Ledger, 6/25/05)
Rape defendants who pleaded guilty under Keating’s jurisdiction served less than half the time in prison as defendants who pleaded guilty to rape in neighboring Plymouth County:
“While the Norfolk defendants who pleaded guilty after being charged with forcible rape or attempted rape received an average minimum sentence of 1.7 years, those in Plymouth got 4.6 Years.” (Karen Eschbacher, “Investigative Report; Bargaining For Justice; Do A Crime, Serve Less Time In Norfolk. DAs Take Different Routes To Justice,” The Patriot Ledger, 6/25/05)
With a record like that, how can Massachusetts families trust Bill Keating to represent them?
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