Placing An Ad On Craigslist To Try And Get Your Neighbor Raped Doesn’t Warrant Jail Time In California

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A California woman has been given the world’s lightest sentence for some highly disturbing crimes. She was out-bid on her “dream home” in 2011 by a young couple with kids and proceeded to make their lives a living hell for a period of nearly a year as revenge. This story is like something out of a TV movie and it’s terrifying to know that someone is actually this sick.

Kathy Rowe, a former San Diego “Mother of the Year”, was arrested on two felony counts of solicitation of rape and sodomy and misdemeanor counts, including harassment. She also received a stalking charge. The couple, Jerry Rice and his wife Janice Ruhter, endured months of disturbing incidents before Rowe was finally found and arrested. From People:

Rowe, says McHugh, became angry after the young couple outbid her on the $700,000-plus house she wanted, and orchestrated a sinister plot to exact revenge.

The behavior was originally considered harassment “but then we saw that it was clearly beyond harassment,” he says.

 

In email correspondences with men, Rowe, posing as Ruhter, wrote that she had fantasies of being raped while her husband was at work.
“I love to be surprised and have a man just show up at my door and force his way in the door and on me, totally taking me while I say no,” she wrote to one man who responded to her posting.

 

Rowe told another man to stop by Ruhter’s home “any Monday Friday, 9 am 3 pm. I like the element of surprise.” The man asked for the location and Rowe sent him Ruhter’s address.

Keep in mind, these incidents occurred over a period of months in which the couple had a toddler and a new baby. Can you imagine having this directed at you while living with small children? Here is a list of what this woman exacted upon these poor people- read it and then tell me that her pitiful sentence of a year of home electronic surveillance, five years probation and 10 years of staying away from the couple was enough:

– Listed their house for sale on the internet

– Stopped their mail and sent $1000’s worth of magazines addressed to “Jacques Arse”

– Sent Valentine’s Day cards to eight of the neighbor’s wives “from” Jerry Rice

– Created online ads advertising sex with Janice Ruhter and attempted to get these men to show up to her house

– Created an online ad for the “Carmel Valley Freak Show” listing their address as the location

Ok, is that enough? Is that enough to convince you all that a year of being monitored at home is not nearly the punishment this twisted woman deserves? Apparently, the judge kept in mind that Rowe has a special needs teenager who needs her care in deciding to let her avoid jail time. Sorry to sound insensitive, but they needed to figure something out. To me, this makes the crime even worse on Rowe’s part- no matter how “out of character” her actions may have been, she must have known they could have resulted in jail time and no one around to care for her child. Plenty of incarcerated people have loved ones that they care for but that does not mean they should be allowed to skip jail time for serious crimes. This woman tried to get a young mother RAPED. She claims she never intended to harm them but I call bullshit. I am honestly shocked at this lame punishment.

Her lawyer gave some spiel about how Rowe had always been an upstanding citizen and that once she found a suitable home for her family, the “pranks” stopped. Well firstly, stupid lawyer, soliciting rape is not a PRANK. It is a crime. Secondly, I think many people committing crimes were probably out of their usual character at the time. That does not make the crime any less deserving of punishment.

As a result of this terrifying situation, the young couple ended up in therapy. I can’t imagine how scary this must have been, particularly before knowing the source of the harassment. I doubt they will ever feel truly safe in their home again- especially considering the fact that Kathy Rowe did find a new home after all. Just one mile away from the couple she spent nearly a year torturing because she didn’t get what she wanted. Our justice system at work, folks. I wish them the best and hope they can recover and go on to lead normal lives.

(Image: /Shutterstock)

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