EDITORIAL:

Albert Lee Schildknecht abused his authority as a choir director to sexually abuse one of his 16-year-old singers for nearly two years in various places around Costa Mesa.

And he’ll never serve a day in prison for it.

Over the objections of prosecutors who fought for jail time, Orange County Superior Court Judge Thomas Borris struck a plea bargain with Schildknecht that gave him a choice between a year in prison and not registering as a sex offender or five years of probation and registering as a sex offender.

How about all of the above, Judge Borris?

We cannot understand why Schildknecht was given any kind of deal allowing him to avoid prison.

Schildknecht, 58, would have faced a much harsher sentence if his victim had not waited 12 years to tell authorities as the statute of limitations handicapped the prosecution. The blame, though, does not lie in any way with the victim, of course, nor the prosecutors who put forth the best case they could under the circumstances.

Rather, save your scorn for Judge Borris, who decided to override the wishes of prosecutors and give Schildknecht a break. It matters little to us that Schildknecht might find it painful to have to register as a sex offender because it goes without saying that someone who attacks a teenage girl should never have the option of avoiding that duty.

Even as he begged the court for mercy and “deeply” apologized, he still felt compelled to outrageously point out that he thought the victim, Elaina Kroll, was mature for her age.

Kroll, who courageously spoke out against her attacker and publicly identified herself to empower other victims to not feel the terrible shame, put it best:

“Your honor, I’ve served my time. It’s my wish that he now serve his.”