Victim 'extremely upset' after judge allows man to avoid prison for rapes

Published January 13, 2015

A north Alabama man convicted in a series of rapes has again avoided a prison sentence for the assaults.

Limestone County Circuit Judge James Woodroof suspended a 35-year sentence for Austin Clem and ordered him to spend five years on probation for a series of assaults on a former neighbor.

Woodroof issued a written order Monday.

Prosecutors appealed after Woodroof's original sentence didn't require prison time for 25-year-old Clem. They claimed the sentence violates state law.

An appeals court ordered another sentencing, and Woodroof again let Clem stay out of prison.

The victim says she is "extremely upset" and feels like she's been punched in the face.

Clem was convicted of sexually assaulting the woman three times. Prosecutors say the assaults began seven years ago when the victim was 13.

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