Eric Bodenweiser was the Republican nominee to a Delaware State Senate seat in 2012. A few weeks before the election he was charged with several counts of felony sex abuse of a minor under sixteen. The raping began when the boy was ten.
The first trial ended in a hung jury. The defense attorney implied the victim was a liar for things such as promising his parents as a teen that he would tell no one but then telling his then-wife, his current wife, and his sister. It was brutal as you can see in the Cape Gazette articles below.
He pleaded no contest to two misdemeanor charges of 3rd degree sexual contact with a minor after his first trial ended in a mistrial. He asked not to be put on the sex offender registry and the judge agreed, noting it had never been done before and not being on the registry didn’t mean he was not a sex offender.
He was sentenced to one year probation. That’s one year for two years of raping an child from when he was ten until he was twelve. No wonder he was smiling and laughing at his sentencing hearing.
- Delaware Online: Eric Bodenweiser pleads no contest to lesser sex crimes
- WRDE Coast TV: Bodenweiser gets sentenced for rape charges
- Cape Gazette: Bodenweiser’s accuser takes the stand
- Cape Gazette: Bodenweiser’s accuser steps down
The News Journal
Wilmington, Delaware · Saturday, October 13, 2012