Man admits raping four teenage girls, gets no jail time.

[RandySF]

LEWISTON, N.Y. (WKBW) — A former Lewiston man who pleaded guilty to rape and sex abuse in 2019 has been sentenced to eight years probation.

7 Eyewitness News was in the courtroom Tuesday when 20-year-old Christopher Belter received his sentence. Niagara County Judge Matthew Murphy sentenced Belter to eight years of probation and he must also register as a sex offender. He will face no jail time.

According to 7 Eyewitness News senior reporter Eileen Buckley, a victim in the courtroom was clearly upset by the judge's decision.

“Through treatment and reflection, I’ve come to feel deep shame and regret for my actions none of you deserved to be in this situation,” stated Belter. “I hope each of you could close that wound i gashed.”

Belter addressed the court before his sentencing for the rape and sexual assault of four teenage girls.

“I know though, that a scare will remain that will serve as a reminder of the evil of that night,” Belter reading from his notes.

Some of his victims were in the courtroom for his sentencing, learning he won't serve any time behind bars.

Judge Murphy decided prison time would be "inappropriate".






https://www.wkbw.com/news/local-news/lewiston-man-who-previously-pleaded-guilty-to-rape-receives-no-jail-time-sentenced-to-eight-years-probation

[Ohio Joe]

1. ummm... WTF?

The judge is just as fucked up and sick as the rapist.

[spooky3]

2. The judge should be removed. Who cares if he prayed over his decision? Nt

[bearsfootball516]

3. "I actually prayed over what is the appropriate sentence in this case."

Sounds like I found the problem.

[halfulglas]

14. Reminds me of that case a number of years ago.

The defendant, a grown man, got off with I think probation or was dismissed altogether because the judge agreed the victim (a 7 year old little girl) was acting "seductively" with the defendant. I think there is a segment of the population (sometimes evangelical Christian or possibly closeted pedophile) who believe just being born female is seductive. They should never be put in a position of judgement or authority.

[orleans]

4. one of my first thoughts: he must be white.

clicked on the link and lo and behold--he is

[Justice matters.]

8. "He is privileged. He comes from money. He is white."

Cohen represents one of the victims and is outraged with the sentence. Cohen says there were "zero consequences" for violating his previous probation.

“He is privileged. He comes from money. He is white. He was sentenced as an adult, appropriately — for an adult to get away with these crimes is unjust,” Cohen remarked.

Cohen noted how difficult it was for his client to hear Belter will not go to jail.

“I believe she’s in the bathroom throwing up, right now, excuse me," described Cohen before leaving the courthouse.

[marble falls]

5. Judge Bolton(wrong psychpath) Belter needs to be removed.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

6. And he has a HISTORY OF RAPE as a teenager.

He also violated his parole from those cases.

He is a child of privilege, and this should not have had ANY bearing on the cases just tried.

[onenote]

10. link?

[Ohio Joe]

13. It's in the OP's link

In 2018, when Belter was 17, he was charged with first degree rape, third degree rape and sexual abuse involving multiple 15- and 16-year-old girls at his Lewiston home.

[onenote]

17. Those are the charges that thec court was dealing with

Not separate incidents.

He was charged with and plead guilty for rapes he committed when he was 17. He was initially sentenced to "interim probation" with conditions (not "parole" ). He violated one of those conditions by accessing porn on his computer. So he lost his "youthful offender" status and was subject to being sentenced to actual jail time.

He should have been sentenced to jail time.

But to the extent that the post to which I replied suggested that the matter before the court was different than the rapes he committed as a teen, it is mistaken.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

24. Here you go:

https://www.wkbw.com/news/local-news/lewiston-man-who-previously-pleaded-guilty-to-rape-receives-no-jail-time-sentenced-to-eight-years-probation

[onenote]

29. See post #17

He should have been given jail time.
But to the extent the post to which I replied suggests that the judge's decision concerned different rapes he committed as an adult not the ones he committed as a teen, that is mistaken.

[iemanja]

7. This happens too often

Rape is treated as "boys will be boys," while decisions like these show that women and girls are treated as less than human.

[dutch777]

9. I am for lenient sentencing for first time offenders and the young but this is NOT right

I am not sure if I was one of those victim's father, that I would not take it upon myself to mete out some greater justice.

[malaise]

16. He is not a first time offender

He is a rich white boy

[Texasgal]

11. WHAT????

This is OUTRAGEOUS!

[Celerity]

12. If you are white, it's all right. A black man would get life or vigilante-murdered

[JanMichael]

32. That face needs a baseball bat taken to it.

[FakeNoose]

18. He's not a MAN - he was a 16 year old BOY when it happened and now he's 18

This headline and blurb are very misleading.

Please read the full story as it was reported in the local newspaper of Lewiston, NY:
https://www.wkbw.com/news/lewiston-teen-charged-with-rape-at-home-where-parents-are-accused-of-hosting-booze-fueled-parties

If you read this story, you'll see that the boy's mother and stepfather were allowing teenagers to have unsupervised parties with alcohol. Apparently none of the girls' parents knew what was going on, but that doesn't exonerate them. Why didn't they know?

The boy's mother and stepfather are awaiting trials. The boy has been allowed to live with his father, and perhaps there is hope to rehabilitate him. The girls will need rape counseling of course, but one hopes their parents are taking their responsibility more seriously in light of what happened.

I think in this case the judge made the right decision. There's a lot of blame to go around here, mainly the boy's parents are completely messed up.

[Scrivener7]

21. Oh, FFS. He was old enough to rape 4 people.

And they weren't his first.

An you think it's the girls' parents fault.

That's just revolting.

[Oneironaut]

27. A 16-year-old boy knows not to rape someone!

He is not a victim! I hate this type of apologia, because it puts shame on rape victims like it’s their decision to ruin the rapist’s life or not. He ruined his own life the second he did what he did.

[Hugh_Lebowski]

31. That doesn't change the fact that the headline and story are misleading ...

The incidents occurred when he was not a '20 year old man', he was 16. And already pled guilty to all this when he was 17.

If you read the details of what these crimes entail (look at what each of the charges mean in NY State ... two counts of second degree sex abuse, third degree attempted abuse and third degree rape) and put them together with other information, the overall picture is that he was a 16 year old having sex with other 16 year olds, all of them almost certainly drunk at the time.

Therefore, it's considered that they 'did not consent' due to being loaded, ergo, these charges.

I'm not saying that's nothing, but 8 years of probation for some crime committed by a MINOR of this nature seems reasonable.

Consider what the terms are:

Remain in Niagara County
Have employment or be a full-time student
Live with parents
Order of protection by victims
No contact with anyone under 18
No internet unless given permission by probation
No overnight trips
No visiting locations where minors are present unless probation agrees
Random polygraph and drug tests

He also has to register as a sex offender.

I don't think it's wildly out of line frankly.

[iemanja]

42. the poor thing

Meanwhile, the girls lives are destroyed. But what does that matter?

[JanMichael]

33. Are you crazy? Really. It's OK to you?

[MagickMuffin]

19. There there be on your way to rape again, Is that about right "judge" Matt Murphy

I'm almost certain that Chris Belter means all his bs and will continue to rape again and again. It's what rapist do terrorize their prey.


Perhaps the judge adheres to that behavior as well.

[uponit7771]

20. Betty White

[Dr. Strange]

22. Yes.

Betty White

Totally agree.

[iemanja]

28. What does that mean?

[sir pball]

40. Say it slowly... "Bet-He White" nt

[Judi Lynn]

25. This article says this waste of skin had help with his party from his family:

Thomas J. Prohaska Nov 16, 2021 Updated 11 hrs ago

Christopher J. Belter arrived at Niagara County Court Tuesday with the knowledge that his conviction for rape, sexual abuse and sexual assault, crimes he committed against teenage girls in his Lewiston home, could send him to prison for eight years.

Instead, Judge Matthew J. Murphy III placed Belter on probation for eight years, saying a prison sentence in the case "would be inappropriate."

. . .

"He is privileged, he comes from money, he is white," Cohen said of Belter. "He was sentenced as an adult, appropriately. For an adult to get away with these crimes is unjust."

Asked for his client's reaction, Cohen said, "She's in the bathroom throwing up."

. . .

According to State Police, Belter's mother, Tricia Vacanti, now 50; his stepfather, Gary E. Sullo, 56; and a family friend, Jessica M. Long, 42, supplied the girls with alcohol and marijuana during various parties and helped groom them for sexual assaults by Belter.

More:
https://buffalonews.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/man-who-sexually-assaulted-4-teen-girls-in-lewiston-home-gets-probation/article_c247289a-466d-11ec-b23d-43b7373c17e9.html

The man who made it possible, Judge Matthew J. Murphy III:



~ ~ ~

When Keeping It Cool Mom Goes Wrong: Wealthy Lawyer Buys Jello Shots And Smokes Blunts With Teen Son’s Friends, Then He Rapes 4 Underage Girls, Idiots Defend Her



Buffalo News: The gatherings inside a house on Mountain View Drive in Lewiston had all the hallmarks of high school parties gone awry – Jell-O shots, pot and teenagers, according to court documents filed by a police investigator. It was at those house parties where a 17-year-old allegedly raped and sexually abused four 15- and 16-year-old girls. And, prosecutors allege, it was the suspect’s mother who gave the kids alcohol during at least seven different parties, supplied the marijuana and, on occasion, smoked pot with the teenagers. The suspect, whose name has been withheld by authorities, faces multiple felony charges, including rape, and is scheduled to appear in Lewiston Town Court this week.

Now 18, he was arrested on Nov. 6, the same day his mother, Tricia Vacanti, 47, of Mountain View Drive, was charged with supplying alcohol and pot to teenagers at parties in her home on various occasions between June 24, 2017, and Aug. 2, 2018. Two other adults are also charged with serving alcohol to minors at some of the parties at the house, near Niagara Falls Country Club, in one of Niagara County’s most exclusive neighborhoods.





More:
https://turtleboysports.com/when-keeping-it-cool-mom-goes-wrong-wealthy-lawyer-buys-jello-shots-and-smokes-blunts-with-teen-sons-friends-then-he-rapes-4-underage-girls-idiots-defend-her/

[Oneironaut]

26. But there is no rape culture!!1!

Poor boys - they made one wrong decision. It shouldn’t ruin their lives!!1! Oh, you FEMALES are still here? You may go now. /s

[Scrivener7]

30. Oh, MAN! The apologists for this creep in this thread are sickening.

[Hugh_Lebowski]

35. I see no apologists, just some people trying to explain the facts ...

Essentially, based on the charges this 16 year old CHILD pled guilty to (he pled them out when he was 17, this case is actually years old), this situation entailed a drunken 16 year old boy having sex with drunken 15-16 year old girls at parties happening at his parent's house.

From what one can logically derive from the text of the laws he pled guilty to, it very much seems that those girls were considered to have been unable to consent ... because they were drunk.

8 years of *very* strict probation and registering as sex offender seems reasonable to me given those circumstances.

If that makes me an 'apologist', so be it.

https://www.wkbw.com/news/lewiston-teen-charged-with-rape-at-home-where-parents-are-accused-of-hosting-booze-fueled-parties

And another point of fact I just discovered ... right now he's being sentenced for violating his probation, that is what this current case is about, that is what he got 8 years probation for.

It isn't even ABOUT the rapes, that case was long ago settled.

[DLevine]

36. It was more than that. You should read the link below.

https://iowa.forums.rivals.com/threads/man-who-raped-four-teenagers-gets-no-jail-time-judge-says-%E2%80%98incarceration-isn%E2%80%99t-appropriate%E2%80%99.375128/

The fourth teen who was assaulted by Belter gave what Murphy described as a “gripping statement” of how she focused on a plant while she was being raped.

“During the rape, he told her to stop being such a baby. She focused her attention on the leaves of the plant as she cried during the attack,” Murphy wrote, according to the News. “The Defendant told her that, if she stopped resisting, it wouldn’t hurt as much.”

[Hugh_Lebowski]

38. Okay well lets come back to this ... he pled out and was sentenced to 2 years probation for what

happened when he was 16 ... back when he was 17.

The 2 years probation he got at the time said he's not allowed to view porn (which frankly I find ridiculous but whatever, those are the terms).

Recently he apparently was caught for looking at porn while on probation. So this current case is not a penalty for what he did to girls when he was 16. He's getting 8 more years probation ... for viewing porn.

I'd add it's a VERY STRICT 8 YEARS where basically he can't have sex with anyone OR look at porn. This is 20-ish year old person. He damn well might as well be in jail with what they're requiring of him. He won't be able to form a relationship let alone find a spouse or start a family.

This is a pretty damn tough penalty for viewing porn IMHO.

Now ... if you want to argue that the ORIGINAL 2 years of probation he got for the assaults was way too short/lenient ... okay. That I agree with.

I would guess that this stiff 8 years ... is an attempt to make up for that oversight.

[FelineOverlord]

45. He's a rapist

He will break every rule that he is supposed to follow. He absolutely hates women.

And the rich white kid will keep getting away with it.

Lock him up.

and the judge needs to be kicked off the bench.

This awful judge ran unopposed.

https://ballotpedia.org/Matthew_J._Murphy,_III

[Hugh_Lebowski]

46. Given how strict and long those probation terms are, I'm SURE you'll get your wish (nt)

[iemanja]

41. You're right about one thing.

That is apology.

[Hugh_Lebowski]

43. No, really I'm just annoyed with the sensationalized headline and beginning to the story

I'm so tired of click-bait headlines and having to read way the hell down into the story to get the facts.

FAR more accurate headline: '20 year old man gets 8 years of strictly supervised probation, must register as sex offender, for looking at pornography while on probation for juvenile sex crimes'.

But that wouldn't bring in the clicks like 'man rapes 4 teens, gets no jail time'... which is really not at all what happened.

[iemanja]

44. His original probation was for rape, not looking at porn

A measly two years. He should have been sentenced to time, like so many others who violate probation. Of course the victims were only girls, and it's not like women actually matter.

[Captain Zero]

48. a shrink is needed based on this statement:

“I hope each of you could close that wound i gashed.”

Freud would have a field day with that.
I can't believe anyone who looked at his statement before hand didn't recommend that come out. And I can't believe the judge didn't tell his rich family to get him a shrink and want to see reports from that psychiatrist.

[DLevine]

49. +1

[Devil Child]

34. Disgusting n/t

[Demovictory9]

37. judge is pro rape, pro privileged

[LudwigPastorius]

39. I clicked through and...yep, it's a rich, white boy.

He'll rape someone again, no doubt about it. He's a predator.

[NowISeetheLight]

47. Inappropriate?

Here is a case for mandatory minimum sentencing for some crimes. The Slate did an article a couple years ago about rapists with no jail time. I remember reading it back then and found it again. It's very frustrating to think this goes on.

https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2019/05/sexual-assault-rape-sympathy-no-prison.html