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Prosecutor and judge in Shawn Jordan rape case victims of threats

A week after a former Rochester police officer avoided prison time following a rape conviction, the prosecutor and judge were the victims of harassment and threats, authorities said.

The case of Shawn Jordan, who admitted to raping a 13-year-old girl, made national and even international headlines because the former Rochester police officer received what some consider a lenient sentence. He pleaded guilty to second-degree rape and was sentenced last week to 10 weekends in jail followed by 10 years probation.

“Following this confession and conviction, we received some pretty violent phone calls and text messages and even Facebook messages on our personal Facebook accounts threatening us with death and telling us to kill ourselves. The letter claimed we were worse than the person who committed the crime,” said Kelly Wolford, the Ontario County Assistant District Attorney who prosecuted the case.

Ontario County Court Judge Kristina Karle has received similar threats, Wolford said. The threats have been reported to law enforcement.

Why this request?

Wolford said the plea agreement was because there was no evidence other than the girl's testimony and because she was afraid of how testifying in court would affect the victim. She said she believes the girl, now 15, would have been severely traumatized by the testimony.

“These are things that require tough decisions,” Wolford said of the agreement. She and Karle, who could not be reached for comment, were the target of “hatred and vitriol from across the country,” she said.

The prosecution would have been much stronger “if I had a confession, if I had physical evidence,” Wolford said. “I have none of that.” More than a year passed between the rape and the indictment.

In the British newspaper The Guardian, the national director of the Children's Justice Campaign of the organization Enough Abuse, Kathryn Robb, said of the verdict: “This verdict is the epitome of injustice and a dangerous signal to child sexual abusers. It should make it clear to them: 'Don't worry, we won't be too harsh on you.'”

Her comments formed the basis for numerous other news reports.

Trauma of testimony

Mary Whittier, founding director of the Bivona Child Advocacy Center in Rochester, said she could understand the reluctance to call a minor victim to the witness stand.

“It's hard for kids of any age to stand up in a room full of strangers and talk about the most difficult, traumatizing thing that has ever happened to them in their lives,” said Whittier, who has run Bivona, which works with young victims of abuse, for more than 15 years. “That's rape. That's child abuse.”

Children often think they are to blame or are afraid they will not be believed, Whittier said. The dynamic in the Ontario County case is exacerbated by the fact that the rapist was a police officer, a man who supposedly enjoyed the trust of the community, she said.

“It makes the trauma even worse, just like if it’s a teacher or a doctor.”

The future of the police rapist

Wolford said Jordan likely would have forced the case even without the verdict included in the plea deal, fearing the prison sentence a former police officer who raped a young teenager might face.

While on probation, his electronic devices will be monitored and a violation could result in jail time. He will also register as a sex offender; his classification will be determined later this year.

“He got 10 years probation,” Wolford said. “If he screws up, he could go to prison for seven years.”

“Do we want him to stay in prison for the rest of his life? Absolutely.”

Jordan still faces criminal charges in Monroe County, alleging that he exposed himself to a 16-year-old girl in an online chat, and charges of first-degree distribution of indecent material to a minor (a felony) and endangering the welfare of a child (a misdemeanor).

This criminal case was the source of the tip that led to Jordan's arrest for rape in Ontario County. He was arrested last year and charged with first-degree rape. He is alleged to have raped the then 13-year-old in South Bristol sometime between April and June 2022.

A difficult family decision in the case of child rape

In the rape case, the victim's family supported the confession, said Wolford. Her mother made a strong statement about the victim, but did not want her daughter to have to testify in court, said Wolford.

Whittier said the most important thing for the victim in the future will be therapy. “It shapes you as a person, sure,” she said of the crime. “But it doesn't define who you are as a person.”

“It's so important to get professional help from a therapist who specializes in childhood trauma. She still has a whole life ahead of her.”

— Gary Craig is a veteran reporter at the Democrat and Chronicle who covers court cases, crime and more. Reach Craig at [email protected]. He is the author of two books, including “Seven Million: A Cop, a Priest, a Soldier for the IRA, and the Still-Unsolved Rochester Brink's Heist.”“

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