TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Outrage sparked over a Macon, Georgia man avoiding jail time after pleading quilty to statutory rape.
Tremayne Driskell, Jr., 21, was charged with rape and child molestation of a 13-year-old girl in 2016. A plea deal gives him five years of probation.
Meg Baldwin, the executive director of the Refuge House in Tallahassee, says the light sentence sends the wrong message. She says it hurts victims, as well as shows perpetrators that they can get away with sexual assault.
The Refuge House assists victims of sexual assault and domestic violence.
Baldwin says it’s common for young rape victims to not or delay telling anyone what happened, particularly those age 13 to 15, who usually react with a feeling of giving up.
Baldwin said, “One of the hallmark behaviors of a young person who’s been sexually assaulted is to withdraw; to withdraw from friendships, from school, from social contacts, from parents, and from nurturing support, too.”
Authorities say the 13-year-old in Macon waited months to tell someone that Driskell went in her bedroom forced her to have sex, and told her, “not to tell anyone because he didn’t want to go to jail.”
“That’s a serious offense, an innocent child. It needs to go punished harshly.” Said, one local resident.
Driskell’s molestation charges will be dismissed after five years of probation.
“In this case, we heard about a crime that perpetrates the most toxic harm that one person can do to another human life. We’re seeing probation imposed as a sentence? That doesn’t make any sense to me.” Baldwin said.
In 2016, the Refuge House took about one-thousand calls on its hotline…in reference to sexual assault..
Baldwin advises any parent who notices their child withdrawing, or have any concerns, to please contact the Refuge House for support and feedback. The number is (850) 922-6062.
