Federal judge allows rapist sheriff to remain free until sentencing in May

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Bill Keating (above, from this video), a former Texas Sheriff, pleaded guilty in federal court to sexually assaulting a woman, telling her she had to comply or face jail on a drug charge.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert K. Roach decided to allow Keating to remain free until sentencing in May. The honorable Judge Roach said Keating was neither a flight risk nor a danger to the community because he had a "stable marriage" and because "this crime and other alleged misdeeds happened when he was acting as the sheriff."

Keating and [as many as 12 other former sheriff's personnel and inmates] also face state charges related to having sex with inmates and taking illegal substances into the jail, Montague County District Attorney Jack McGaughey said. He declined to reveal specifics Tuesday but said he would present cases to a grand jury in February.

So rapists get special treatment if they carry a badge? And did the judge ask Keating's wife how "stable" her marriage with this rapist is? Civil Liberties Examiner has more.