BUFFALO, N.Y. (WBEN) The eyes of the nation are on Western New York after a stunning sentence in a criminal case in Niagara County earlier this week.
20 year old Christopher Belter of Lewiston, had pleaded guilty to third-degree rape, attempted sexual abuse and two counts of second degree sexual abuse involving four teenage girls during parties at his family's home in Lewiston in 2017 and 2018.
When he arrived Tuesday for sentencing before Niagara County Court Judge Matthew Murphy, he knew he could have received a sentence of up to 8 years in prison.
Instead he received probation. "You shake your head," said Diane Tiveron, managing attorney at HoganWillig. "Everyone was surprised. The judge indicated that it was a very difficult decision. He indicated that he had prayed over it."
In his ruling, the judge said that incarceration was not appropriate.
Attorney Steve Cohen, who represents one victim who was 16 and in high school when the assault took place, slammed the decision. "He is privileged. He comes from money. He is white and for an adult, to get away with these crimes, without jail time, is unjust."
"It makes you wonder," said Tiveron in an interview on WBEN Friday morning. "If the defendant was from a different socioeconomic or racial background, would the result have been different?" She said she worries about that, because it shouldn't happen.
"This particular situation doesn't offer women who have made the painful decision to share awful, painful details, the chance to heal. It was quite the opposite," said Tiveron.
"Do we worry that it may chill other women from coming forward? Yes, of course there is a concern there," she added.
This is one of Judge Murphy's last cases on the bench. He faces mandatory retirement.
A civil case has been started against Belter. Tiveron said it encompasses not just Belter, but his family as well. The level of proof needed to move forward with a civil matter is less than a criminal matter.
In the meantime, Belter will be on probation. He will be classified as a sexual offender.
Major media outlets across the country are running the Belter story.
