In one of the most shocking decisions in recent memory, a California judge reduced a child rapist’s sentence from a mandatory 25 years to 10, claiming that the longer sentence would constitute “cruel and unusual punishment.”

Superior Court Judge M. Marc Kelly informed an Orange County jury that 20-year-old Kevin Jonas Rojano-Nieto, who sodomized a three-year-old girl at his home last June and covered her mouth so she could not call back to her mother, who was calling to her, “did not intend to harm” the child, adding, “there was no violence or callous disregard for the victim’s well-being.”

After the rape, the little girl told her mother she was in pain; the mother called police, who confirmed the child had been raped.

Kelly defended the rapist, asserting that he “inexplicably became sexually aroused but did not appear to consciously intend to harm the victim.”

Shocked prosecutors, including Deputy District Attorney Whitney Bokosky, stated they will appeal the decision and attempt to reinstate the initial sentence. Bokosky said it was clear the assailant knew he was conscious of his wrongdoing because he covered the girl’s mouth.

According to KTLA, Kelly also said, “Although serious and despicable, this does not compare to a situation where a pedophilic child predator preys on an innocent child.” KTLA also reported that Rojano-Nieto forced the child to touch his penis.