WATERTOWN, N.Y. — A school bus driver in New York who admitted to raping a 14-year-old girl who was on his bus route has avoided jail and was sentenced to probation.
WWNY reported that 25-year-old Shane Piche will be on probation for 10 years and must register as a sex offender.
Piche pleaded guilty to third-degree rape in February and was sentenced on Thursday.
The judge noted Piche had no previous arrests and there was only one victim, according to the Watertown Daily Times.
“I wish Shane Piche would have received time in jail for the harm he caused to my child,” the victim’s mother said in a statement.
“He took something from my daughter she will never get back and has caused her to struggle with depression and anxiety.”
“He’ll be a felon for the rest of his life,” defense attorney Eric Swartz said. “He’s on the sex offender registry for a long time. Maybe not the rest of his life because of the level but this isn’t something that didn’t cause him pain and this isn’t something that didn’t have consequences.”
