BRIGHTON, Mich. – Three families are outraged because the boy they said raped their daughters is going to jail for a month and a half.
The ruling came after an eight-month investigation and court proceedings that the families call torture.
There were originally 31 felonies against the now-16-year-old for sexually assaulting three girls, and he pleaded guilty to six of them.
But instead of going to a center to be evaluated for 15 months, the court referee went against the plea agreement, and he was sentenced for 45 days.
"He is a rapist," one victim's father said.
That's the kindest thing the man had to say about the family friend who sexually assaulted his 12-year-old daughter. It first happened last year when the boy was 14 years old.
Court documents show that after raping her, the teen went to her house and told her he wanted to apologize, but he didn't.
"He's shown a pattern of escalation," a victim's family member said. "He broke into our home and took our daughter again. Coming to apologize, she let the dog out and he got in and was wrestling her down in the kitchen."
He used the same tactic with another girl who was 13 years old. Her mother said she has been changed forever and struggles with post-traumatic stress disorder.
Then, earlier this month, the girls and their families felt victimized all over again when the boy was sentenced to 45 days in jail.
They said his probation officer and defense attorney argued testing showed he didn't need to be sent to a facility for more than a year.
"I asked (the prosecutor) if he can go back to school and she said she doesn't know," a victim's family member said. "How am I supposed to feel about that?"
"Every parent has a responsibility to step forward and stop this," a victim's family member said.
"I'm angry because this needs to be stopped," a family member said.
All three girls said they were teased, bullied and ostracized at school and online. They want people to know they're more than a case file.
One of the stipulations of the sentence was that the boy has to register as a sex offender, but the families were told the official or judge doesn't have to abide by any of the stipulations and that too could be thrown out, as the original sentence was.