Stacey Rambold, the former Billings teacher convicted of raping a 14-year-old student, could be paroled to California, less than three years after he was sentenced to prison.
Rambold, 57 years old, is awaiting a decision from the California Board of Corrections on a parole plan he had approved by a Montana parole board.
Rambold presented the plan at a hearing on January 30, according to Judy Beck, the Montana Department of Corrections communications director.
Rambold, a former teacher at Senior High School in Billings, has served about two and a half years of his 10-year sentence for raping a student in 2007.
Rambold was charged the following year with three counts of sexual intercourse without consent, but the case took a turn in 2010 when Moralez committed suicide before a trial could be held.
The case drew nationwide outrage after former Yellowstone County District Judge G. Todd Baugh claimed that the victim, Cherice Moralez, looked older than her biological age.
Baugh also said Moralez was a troubled youth who had "as much control of the situation" as Rambold.
Baugh initially sentenced Rambold to 31 days in jail, but the sentence was found unconstitutional and was overturned.
Rambold was then sentenced to 15 years in prison with five years suspended.
According to Beck, Rambold’s first opportunity to be paroled was February 22, 2016, but he was not granted parole at that time.
Should Rambold be transferred to California, he would do so under an interstate compact.
That means he would be under supervision and would have to abide by the terms of his release.
Rambold would also have to register as a sex offender and complete his sex offender treatment program.
Beck said there was no clear date for when the State of California might respond to Rambold’s request.
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