Man spared jail time for raping 13-year-old girl because he is blind

By Clark Minndock

A 36-year-old man has been spared from jail time after being convicted on rape charges, in part because he is legally blind.

Benjamin Lawrence Petty, of Oklahoma, was sentenced to 15 years probation for raping a 13-year-old while he was a cook at a summer camp, according to local media reports.

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

Murray County District Attorney David Pyle said that Petty’s blindness, and the fact that the victim’s family lives in Texas and didn’t want to travel back and forth for a trial, played a role in the decision not to send Petty to jail. The family had given Mr Pyle’s office permission to pursue a plea agreement.

Petty’s crime occurred in 2016 when he was a cook at a camp for children. During that time, he invited the 13-year-old to watch him perform magic tricks.

He then pulled the young girl into a cabin, tied her hands behind her back, and then raped her.

The family has also filed charges against the church that brought their child to the camp, and also the church that brought Petty to work at the camp. They have also filed charges against the Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma, which runs the Falls Creek camp. Their lawsuit argues that those organisations failed to protect their daughter.