Criminal Charges / Crimes

Although I can’t speak to this specific sentence, in general, sentencing can be very complicated and the defendant’s actual sentence may be determined by many different factors. For example, if a defendant decides to plead guilty and make a deal with the prosecutor, s/he may not face the maximum amount of jail time or any jail time at all depending on the crime s/he is charged with and the charge s/he pleads guilty to. Sometimes a person can be charged with a felony but it is reduced to a misdemeanor, which can have much lesser penalties.

I am not sure if you are related to the victim of the crime who you are writing about. However, it is often common that before a sentence is agreed upon in a plea bargain, the prosecutor will be in contact with the victim and his/her family to get their feedback as to the proposed plea deal. Sometimes, the victim or his/her parents may not want the victim to testify or the evidence may not be strong and the prosecutor fears that there will not be a conviction and so the prosecutor agrees to reduce the charge in exchange for a guilty plea. Again, I can’t speak to this situation but hopefully the prosecutor had already been in contact with the victim to explain the reason for the light sentence.