Judge tells admitted rapist he's being given an 'incredible chance' by only getting sentenced to probation

A man who admitted in court to committing rape is only being sentenced to probation, despite the fact that such a crime normally carries a significant prison sentence.

The Washington Post reports Judge Kurt Krueger told 20-year-old Montana man Derek Nygaard that he was being given an "incredible chance" to redeem himself by only getting sentenced to probation.

This sentence came even though Nygaard had two women claiming that he raped them, one of whom was an ex-girlfriend.

However, the Post notes that the women's statements about what they wanted as an appropriate punishment for Nygaard played a part in the judge's sentencing.

"[Prosecutor Samm Cox] said one of the main reasons it did happen was that Nygaard’s two victims supported the no-prison plea bargain — Nygaard would plead guilty to one of the two sexual assault felonies he was charged with; in exchange, Cox agreed to drop the second one and sign off on a deferred sentence," notes the Post.

Nonetheless, even Judge Krueger acknowledged the extreme rarity of an admitted rapist avoiding prison time, as he said during the court hearing this week that "it just doesn't happen."

In addition to serving probation, Nygaard must also register as a sex offender for six years and attend counseling.

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