Judge cruelly denies justice to three victims raped by probation officer, cites infamous 'six month rule'

The cruelty of the decision is astounding.

Imagine you've made a mistake and must serve probation. Now imagine you've been ordered to submit to sexual advances of your probation officer or face life in prison. This is the very real situation that at least three women found themselves in Kern County. Even worse, a judge has rejected their civil suit in a decision that is baffling even the experts.

LOS ANGELES, CA (California Network) -- Kim Adams, 44 and a mother of three, was convicted of burglary in 2012. She learned a hard lesson, spending a short time in jail away from her son who has cerebral palsy. By all accounts she has reformed herself and as part of that program, she was required to serve time on probation.

Unfortunately, probation became a severe punishment, out of proportion to her crime because her probation officer was a rapist.

Former probation officer Reyes Soberon Jr. repeatedly abused his power to molest and brutally rape Adams and two other women. The impact of this brutality was obviously traumatic. Which makes it even more baffling that the judge would deny her case, saying she does not have a claim for damages. Adams' claim names the rapist, the Kern County, and the Probation Department.

The basis for the judge's decision is a little known rule in California known as the 'six-month-rule' which requires a person who is suing the government to give notice they are doing so within six months of the offense. This means Adams was required to notify the government of her suit within six months of the last rape.

However, Adams contended that she suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) because of the rapes and was unable to perform basic life functions, furthermore retain an attorney. She also has a diagnosis from a doctor that states as much. The report links her PTSD to the rapes she suffered.

Her rapes were savage. The rapist Soberon texted Adams lewd messages, called her into his office where he would digitally penetrate her and force his tongue into her mouth. On one occasion he went to her house and forcefully raped her in front of her disabled son, who has cerebral palsy.

To ensure her silence, Soberon threatened to have her put in prison for life.

Adams finally found the courage to notify a female probation officer in June of 2015. The Probation Department placed Sobron on paid leave until they could investigate the case. He was finally arrested in December of 2015, and sentenced to 180 days in jail for sexually assaulting three women. Sobron must now register as a sex offender.

The Probation Department asked Adams not to retain an attorney or notify the FBI. Nor did the Probation Department notify the public that a serial rapist had been in their ranks.

It is unclear what will happen next. The case has been halted by Kern County Judge Linda S. Etienne, saying Adams is required to prove that she lacked the capacity to bring the case within the six months allotted by law, and that she also lacked the capacity to get someone else to do it on her behalf. Furthermore, being raped does not constitute a basis for disability.

The decision is plainly cruel, even if it has precedent or basis in law. The law is a malleable thing, and in cases of gross injustice like this one, courts tend to find a way to bring the victims relief. In this case, no such relief can be expected from the Kern County Court. The decision is a betrayal of justice and of women who have suffered unimaginably at the hands of a serial rapist who had the power to send them to prison. These women were subsequently victimized by the Probation Department which attempted to hide and suppress news of the crimes.

This is a case for the Feds to investigate, and many more heads deserve to roll; may the people take no pity on those who defend evil.

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