A 44-yea-old man pleaded guilty to raping a 14-year-old girl, which led to the child becoming pregnant. However, despite facing 120 years for his heinous crimes, he requested probation, and the judge dropped the ball.
Raymond Earl Rogers, 44, was released on bail until his sentencing despite pleading guilty to a slew of child sexual abuse charges. (Photo Credit: McLennan County Sheriff’s Office)
When 42-year-old Raymond Earl Rogers was first arrested in Riesel, Texas, he was charged with trafficking of a minor person for taking a young girl in between towns for the purpose of engaging in sexual activity. Initially, he faced just a single count in McLennan County for his crimes. However, once authorities began to dig deeper, they soon realized that Rogers was hiding other sinister secrets.
The Waco Tribune-Herald reports that Rogers had been in a “relationship” with the 14-year-old girl and had engaged in sexual activity more than 65 times over the course of several months. Rogers had transported the child to and from the cities of Riesel and Axtell, having sex with her either at his home or in his pickup truck. Of course, his crimes didn’t end there.
Raymond Earl Rogers trafficked the 14-year-old girl between towns, having sex with her in his truck and at his home. (Photo Credit: Pixabay)
Thanks to social media, awareness about child sex trafficking has become a major topic of discussion. Campaigns have been launched across the globe to fight this billion-dollar industry and has even led to thousands of children being rescued from their abusers.
While there is a need to combat the efforts of human traffickers on an international scale, it’s easy to forget that pedophiles can be anywhere at any time. Although your neighborhood might be far away from all sex offenders, technology offers these sexual predators direct access to your children within the comfort and privacy of your home.
It was revealed in text messages that the girl became pregnant and had a miscarriage during the course of the abuse. (Photo Credit: Pixabay)
A series of text messages between Raymond Earl Rogers and the girl revealed that she had become pregnant. Tragically, the victim is believed to have miscarried, as was evident from private messages on a cell phone Rogers had purchased for her. It was also discovered that the middle-aged man had purchased an “engagement-style” ring and had gifted it to the girl, supposedly signifying their plans to marry.
Upon uncovering his salacious deeds, Rogers’ charge was advanced to 5 counts of sexual assault of a child and one count of indecency with a child by contact. Unbelievably, he wouldn’t stay behind bars. Despite confessing to his crimes and pleading guilty to all 6 counts of child sexual abuse, Rogers was released on bond, Metro reports.
Raymond Earl Rogers gave the child an “engagement-style” ring and swore that he loved her. (Photo Credit: Pixabay)
Rogers faced up to 20 years in prison for each of the 6 felony charges. In an effort to avoid a maximum of 120 years behind bars, Rogers outrageously requested probation, which would allow him to remain free even as a convicted sex offender.
The prosecutor was concerned about Rogers’ request for no jail time and promised to oppose such a sentence. However, there is no guarantee that Rogers will serve a lengthy prison sentence, as a guilty plea often precedes a plea deal.
Although Raymond Earl Rogers faced up to 120 years in prison, he requested probation. (Photo Credit: McLennan County Sheriff’s Office)
It’s likely that Rogers knew that his request for probation would not be granted and merely used the plea in order to settle for a deal allowing him to serve all of his counts concurrently. This way, even if he received the maximum penalty, he would be out of prison in just 20 years upon completion.
Rogers preyed upon the vulnerability and naiveté of a child nearly 3 decades younger than him. He abused her trust, emotions, and body, and he should serve out the rest of his life behind bars. Unfortunately, the system allows for predators like him to avoid justice even when a harsh penalty could be invoked.