Louisiana Judge Suggests Convicted Rapist Pay Fine to Victim for a Lesser Sentence

A 31-year-old woman who was raped when she was 15-years-old was asked by a Louisiana judge if she would accept $150,000 from her rapist Sedrick Hills, 44, to reduce his 12-year sentence. The victim said no, adding, “I don’t think money is going to provide any restitution for what he’s done.” The unusual request came on the heels of a lengthy trial in which a black juror accused a white juror of making racist comments about Hills, who is black. Hills was formally charged for the rape in 2014 after DNA evidence linked him to the crime. He was convicted in 2018 and sentenced to 12 years in prison this week. “This whole experience has been like a movie, but a bad movie, a horror movie,” the victim said, according to WWL TV. “I’ve been fighting this over half of my life. I’m tired. I’m angry. Stuff like this deteriorates a person. It deteriorates who I am.”

*story by The Daily Beast