10 years for one charge of felony rape and incest is the reduced sentence.
most people get something close to a life sentence when charged with rape.
im pretty sure thats the absolute minimum they could give him with sentencing guidelines.
how would a plea deal even go for something like this?
they'd charge him to a lesser sentence of misdemeanor incest and sexual assault or something?
even with that, he'd go away for a few years.
Dude, first-time rapists almost never get life, unless it's something off-the-wall abhorrent like raping a toddler in a torture chamber. And this is as it should be. The worst sentence you can give in Virginia is life without parole (since the death penalty is now abolished). Does it make sense to punish a lesser crime like rape the same as murder? Even murderers don't usually get life if they're not particularly brutal or prolific.
Chris is not going to go to prison for 10 years, let alone 20. He's going away for 5 tops, and I still think 1 year is far more likely, as a rape charge would require a stupid amount of time and effort from the prosecutor's office if Barb doesn't cooperate.
The only way Chris is getting 10+ is if he completely blows off his attorney, doesn't take a deal, and basically forces the prosecutor to smack him down. EDIT: Or if Barb changes her mind and decides to bring the smackdown on Chris, so far this doesn't seem to be the case.
Remember Chris was arrested because he violated the Emergency Protective Order against Barb.
Consolvo HAS seen Chris' letters from jail so it's up to Consolvo to choose to press further charges for violating the EPO with Chris' letter to Kenzie.
EPOs only last for up to two weeks in Virginia. Anything he did after two weeks is not a violation unless the EPO is renewed or replaced by a more long-lasting restraining order.
Chris won't accept any plea deal, even if it's the best deal in the world that would ultimately benefit him. To Chris, taking a plea deal is an admission of guilt. Chris has no remorse for what he's done, no comprehension of the crimes committed; Chris feels that everything he did was right and justified.
In every other crime Chris has been charged with, either the charges have been dropped or he has taken a plea deal. In the case of Snyder he may have been very bitter in how he behaved at the hearing where he entered the guilty plea, but he still pled guilty.
Chris does what he wants when he is not supervised, but when there is an immediate authority figure there he either complies, hedgehogs, or emits insults or pepper spray and runs away. My guess is when it comes time to either enter a plea in person, or sign a guilty plea in absentia (if it's only a misdemeanor), his attorney will be there to ensure that he does it. He doesn't have the option of making a brief act of defiance and running away.
EDIT: If he does do it via signature, I hope he signs it as Jesus Christine Weston Chandler Sonichu. It will still be legal, as any signature that represents yourself is legal (i.e. you're not impersonating someone else -- even if you think you're someone else, it still refers to you. A simple X, a scribbled drawing, or even a potato stamp is still legal) and I hope an image of it is leaked.