This Celibacy Rape Case Is Infuriating on So Many Levels 

The internet is partly to blame for rape culture — that's Judge Randy Stoker's opinion at least. The Idaho judge recently sentenced a 19-year-old man to celibacy instead of jail time for raping a 14-year-old minor, blaming social media for the teen's sexual aggression.

Cody Herrera pleaded guilty earlier in February to the statutory rape of a 14-year-old girl he met online and was originally sentenced to five to 15 years in prison, according to the The New York Times. Judge Stoker lightened Herrera's sentence to "government mandated celibacy" under a rarely enforced fornication law in the state — while simultaneously arguing social media was partly at fault in his decision.

"Our society has come to a point of, I don't even know how to explain it, you know? I am 66 years of age. When I was 19 years of age, the sexual proclivities of young people wasn't anything, anything like I see today," Stoker told the court, reports the Guardian.

The judge continued by connecting Herrera's case, and many like it, to social media. "I think it is a direct consequence of the social media system that we have in this country," Stoker claimed. "I can't tell you how many times I have seen these cases: 'How did this happen?' 'Well, I met somebody on social media.'"

Stoker also expressed his disapproval of the internet. "If I had my way, I would eliminate the internet, and we'd all have better lives," the judge said. "But I can't do that either. It also says something about, I guess, the level of morality in this country."

Court documents detail how Herrera and the victim's relationship intensified through Facebook. After meeting when Herrera was 17 and the victim was 14 (she told him she was 16), they maintained an online correspondence. The victim's mother eventually found out about their relationship and tried to stop it by calling Herrera and his mother.

In March of 2015, Herrera snuck into the girl's bedroom under the pretense they would be watching a movie, according to the Guardian. But they didn't watch a movie: Herrera allegedly raped the girl, as she protested, without a condom. Herrera said he knew the victim was underage after the phone call he had with her mother.

The victim's mother shared a particularly gut-wrenching testimony with the court. "Cody will never understand what he has done to our family. Cody robbed her of her innocence," she told the judge directly. "He destroyed the child left in her. This can never be returned."

Herrera's celibacy will be monitored and enforced, he will regularly submit to polygraphs for probation, and he will be a registered sex offender.