Blind Man Who Raped 13-Year-Old Girl Spared Jail Time

An Oklahoma man, who is legally blind, has been sentenced to 15 years on probation for raping a 13-year-old Texas girl at a church camp, even after pleading guilty as prosecutors cited his disability in agreeing to a plea deal that spares him prison time, reports said Wednesday.

Benjamin Lawrence Petty, 36, from Spencer, Oklahoma, pleaded guilty to attacking the girl in 2016, while she was attending the Falls Creek church camp in southern Oklahoma. Petty, who was a cook at the same camp, allegedly tied a rope around the girl's wrists, raped her and threatened to hurt her if she told about the incident to anyone, according to investigators.

Petty pleaded guilty to the charges, which included first-degree rape, forcible sodomy, and rape by instrumentation.

Murray County Assistant District Attorney David Pyle stated that a major factor in his decision not to send the man to jail was that Petty was legally blind, and also the fact that the victim’s family lives in Texas and they did not want to travel back and forth for a trial.

However, a group that works to prevent and eliminate sexual and domestic violence said Petty’s sentence sends the wrong message to the world.

"Failure to hold perpetrators accountable regardless of their disabilities sends the wrong message to victims of crime," said Candida Manion, executive director of the nonprofit Oklahoma Coalition Against Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault.

Under the terms of his probation, Petty needs to wear an ankle monitor for 24 months, register as a sex offender and then obtain treatment. However, Manion argued that monitoring systems do not prevent sexual assaults and also that state agencies, which monitor sex offenders suffer from a lack of resources.

"There is a lack of knowledge about sexual assault within the criminal justice system, and what we know about violent offenders is that they will reoffend," Manion said.

Petty was working as a cook at a Falls Creek church camp in the summer of 2016 when the incident happened. The girl was reportedly there with a group from Terrell, Texas.

Petty reportedly told her he was going to show her how to perform tricks with some kind of device he had. Following which he suddenly pulled her into his cabin, according to court documents obtained by KFOR in Oklahoma City. He then closed the door to his bedroom, tied the victim's hands behind her back with rope, and violently raped and sodomized her, court documents stated.

Petty received three suspended 15-year prison sentences and was placed on probation. His documents indicated that he had no prior felony convictions. Murray County District Attorney Craig Ladd said he was not aware of the details of Petty's negotiated plea before it was entered in court. "I didn't authorize it," Ladd said.

He said he had planned to review the investigative reports into the case before deciding whether to take any further actions.

Petty's defense attorney, Lee Berlin, said, "It's a misstatement of what the law and the facts are" to claim that Petty is not being held accountable. Berlin mentioned that Petty will be registered as an aggravated sex offender and is required to comply with rigorous assessment, polygraph and reporting requirements during his probation."

"He certainly is being punished," Berlin said.