A US judge has called a 13 and 14-year-old girl "aggressors" in a sexual abuse case, explaining his decision to reduce the sentence of a 67-year-old man.
The Kansas judge sentenced Raymond Soden to five years and 10 months in prison after he paid for sex with the young girls.
"I do find that the victims in this case, in particular, were more an aggressor than a participant in the criminal conduct," the judge said, according to the Kansas City Star.
“They were certainly selling things monetarily that it’s against the law for even an adult to sell."
The comments outraged children rights group and prosecutors questioned the sentencing.
Leavenworth County Attorney Todd Thompson told the publication a possible appeal is being examined.
Sunflower House CEO Michelle Herman, a children's advocacy group, said sexual assault is "never the victim's fault".
“These girls are minors, and are the victims, not the aggressors,” she told the publication.
“Sexual assault is never the victim’s fault. It doesn’t matter what the girls did or didn’t do, he is still the adult and nobody deserves to be taken advantage of sexually.”
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