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Man Who Brutally Raped 13-Year-Old Girl At Church Camp Gets Probation

SULPHUR, Okla. (CBS4) — A man who pleaded guilty to brutally raping and sodomizing a 13-year-old girl at a church camp in Oklahoma will not serve any additional jail time.

Benjamin Lawrence Petty, 36, was sentenced to 15 years on probation, NewsOK reported Tuesday.

Benjamin Lawrence Petty
Benjamin Lawrence Petty (credit: Oklahoma Department of Corrections)

The girl was raped in June 2016, while attending church camp at Falls Creek. Petty was a working as a cook at the camp, according to NewsOK.

The district attorney who negotiated the plea deal said Petty is "legally blind" and that was part of the reason he didn't insist on prison time, NewsOK reported.

"The big thing is Mr. Petty is legally blind and the parents (of the victim) live out of state and this little girl lives out of state and didn't want to make all the travels back and forth," Murray County Assistant District Attorney David Pyle was quoted as saying.

Petty will be required to wear an ankle monitor for 24 months, register as a sex offender and obtain treatment, according to NewsOK.

An attorney who is helping represent the victim's interests in a civil case was quoted as saying the family consented to the plea agreement after they were told by the district attorney's office that "the rapist would not serve any meaningful prison time due to his medical conditions."

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