Judge Who Sentenced Brock Turner To Six Months In Jail Removed From New Sexual Assault Case

Judge Aaron Persky, who was responsible for sentencing Stanford swimmer Brock Turner to just six months in jail for his sexual assault of a woman during a frat party, has been removed from a new sexual assault case.

Judge Aaron Persky Removed From Case

Santa Clara County District Attorney Jeff Rosen motioned to disqualify Persky from ruling on a sexual assault case in which a male nurse is accused of assaulting a female patient. In the scheduling hearing, Persky would have had the authority to determine whether or not the nurse should stand trial for the allegations.

Leading up to the motion to disqualify him, Persky had drawn criticism once again for his handling of a case. When presented with a misdemeanor theft trial Monday, Persky opted to toss it out before it went to the jury, believing that the prosecutors had failed to prove their case.

“We are disappointed and puzzled at Judge Persky’s unusual decision to unilaterally dismiss a case before the jury could deliberate,” the district attorney said in a prepared statement. “After this and the recent turn of events, we lack confidence that Judge Persky can fairly participate in this upcoming hearing in which a male nurse sexually assaulted an anesthetized female patient.”

Persky defended his decision to give Turner just six months of prison time at the sentencing hearing. “I mean, I take him at his word that, subjectively, that’s his version of events,” Persky said, according to a transcript, suggesting that he had believed Turner’s testimony that he’d received consent from the victim. Persky went on to more or less dismiss the jury’s findings of guilt, stating, “The jury, obviously, found it not to be the sequence of events.”