Austin Smith Clem Was Convicted of Raping His Teenage Neighbor. He Still Didn't Go to Prison.

 

Austin Smith Clem Was Convicted of Raping His Teenage Neighbor. He Didn't Go to Prison.

Courtney Andrews was 14 years old when she said the sexual abuse began.

In 2013, an Alabama jury convicted Austin Smith Clem of one count of first-degree rape and two counts of second-degree rape. Andrews, a neighbor and family friend, testified that Clem had sexually assaulted her multiple times between 2007 and 2011.

Then came the sentence.

Despite the rape convictions, Clem was initially given a split sentence that allowed him to avoid immediate prison and remain in the community under supervision.

Prosecutors challenged the legality of that sentence. Even after resentencing, Clem still did not go to prison. He received five years of probation and community corrections.

The Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals later upheld the revised sentence. Clem was also required to register as a sex offender.

Years later, while still on probation for the rape convictions, Clem was arrested on an unrelated theft charge.

A jury convicted him of rape.

The survivor testified.

And the punishment still did not include a prison cell.

Courtney Andrews deserved better than having the seriousness of what happened to her reflected in a sentence like that.