It “is the epitome of injustice” as well as “dangerous” for a judge to have given a sentence of 10 weekends in jail to a former upstate New York police officer who pleaded guilty to raping a 13-year-old girl before his forced resignation, according to a prominent advocate for child sexual abuse survivors.
“This sentence is the epitome of injustice and a dangerous nod to child sexual predators letting them know, ‘No worries, we won’t go too hard on you,’” Kathryn Robb, the national director of the Children’s Justice Campaign at the Enough Abuse organization, said on Thursday. “This little girl will be imprisoned by her memories for life, while [the rapist] loses a mere 20 days of his liberty.”
Robb, an attorney, has helped state legislatures across the US reform laws addressing child sexual abuse. She added that “rape of a child is one of the most horrendous crimes with lifelong effects on the victim”. And she maintained that the case centering on ex-Rochester, New York, police officer Shawn Jordan was unconscionable for anyone who believed in the ongoing need for stiffer criminal punishments and more substantial civil damages in instances of child molestation.
Jordan, 40, pleaded guilty to second-degree rape and forcible touching in March in connection with allegations that he had molested a girl who was age 13 in 2022 in South Bristol, a community in Ontario county, New York.
It was one of two separate criminal cases filed against Jordan that involved an underage victim. In the other matter, which remained unresolved as of Thursday, authorities in Monroe county, New York, charged him in the spring of 2023 with exposing himself to a 16-year-old girl over a video call.
Under a plea agreement struck in the Ontario county case, state judge Kristina Karle sentenced him on Wednesday to spend 10 weekends in jail as well as 10 years on probation. Karle also ordered Jordan to register as a sex offender and pay fines.
The mother of Jordan’s acknowledged victim implored Karle to send him to prison, saying he had “ruined” her daughter’s life and “doesn’t deserve to be out on the street”, the New York ABC affiliate WHAM reported.
According to Rochester news outlet WROC, Karle approved Jordan’s plea deal after telling him: “I hope you feel shame, I hope you feel remorse, and I hope you never ever hurt another child.”
While the judge reportedly said Jordan’s admitted actions left her with “no words”, she approved his plea agreement.
The president and founder of the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network (Rainn), Scott Berkowitz, joined Robb in expressing disappointment in the outcome of Jordan’s case in Karle’s courtroom.
“A sentence of 10 years in prison, or more, would make a lot more sense than one of 10 weekends,” Berkowitz said. “He’ll be out in a few months, while she will be dealing with the consequences of his crime for many years to come.
“That is not justice.”
The local assistant district attorney Kelly Wolford told WHAM, the New York NBC affiliate WHEC and other outlets that she was “not entirely satisfied with the sentence” given to Jordan. But, despite the brief corresponding punishment for him, Wolford said her office proceeded with Jordan’s plea agreement after considering “the impact of actually having to testify on the victim of this crime”.
“She’s a child, and she was going to have to face her accuser in the courtroom,” Wolford said.
She added: “When I was given the opportunity to consider whether or not we’d take a guilty plea – absolutely, all day, in a circumstance like this.”
Jordan rushed to his car without answering any questions after his sentencing, according to WHEC.
A spokesperson for prosecutors in Monroe county – which includes Rochester – told WHEC that Jordan did not have a court date for his pending case there. That case was the one that triggered a suspension and his subsequent resignation from the Rochester police department.
