Pressure increases to remove judge in Stanford rape case as group plans to hand in petitions with over a MILLION signatures to get him ousted 

  • The organization, UltraViolet, will hand in petitions urging for Judge Aaron Persky to be removed from the bench
  • Persky has faced a backlash after sentencing Stanford University swimmer Brock Turner to six months in jail for attacking a woman on campus
  • The judge said in court he followed recommendation from the county's probation department when sentencing Turner
  • The group will turn in the petitions to a California agency that investigates complaints of judicial misconduct

A women's advocacy group said it will turn in petitions with on Friday that urge a California agency to remove Judge Aaron Persky from the bench

A women's advocacy group said it will turn in petitions with on Friday that urge a California agency to remove Judge Aaron Persky from the bench

A women's advocacy group said it will turn in petitions with more than one million signatures on Friday that urge a California agency to remove the judge at the center of the Stanford rape case.

The organization, UltraViolet, said it collected more than 870,000 signatures, along with an additional 167,000 signatures gathered by other groups.

They will deliver the petitions to the California Commission on Judicial Performance, an agency that investigates complaints of judicial misconduct and disciplines judges.

Santa Clara County Judge Aaron Persky has faced a backlash after he sentenced Stanford University swimmer Brock Turner, 20, last week to six months in jail last for assaulting a 23-year-old unconscious woman behind a campus dumpster last January.

Judge Persky said in court that he followed a recommendation from the county's probation department and cited Turner's clean criminal record and the effect the conviction will have on his life.

Prosecutors had argued for six years in prison for crimes that could have gotten Turner 10 years behind bars. 

But the district attorney has said Persky should not lose his job because of the ruling.

Online records show Turner will be released from jail after three months. 

County jail inmates serve 50 per cent of their sentences if they keep a clean disciplinary record.

'With one in four women sexually assaulted in college, we need judges who work to protect survivors, not their rapists,' Nita Chaudhary, co-founder of UltraViolet, said in a statement. 

The organization, UltraViolet, said it collected more than 870,000 signatures, along with an additional 167,000 signatures gathered by other groups, which they will deliver to the California Commission on Judicial Performance

The organization, UltraViolet, said it collected more than 870,000 signatures, along with an additional 167,000 signatures gathered by other groups, which they will deliver to the California Commission on Judicial Performance

'The California Commission on Judicial Performance must move swiftly to remove Judge Persky from the bench and send a clear signal that rape apologists will never be tolerated as part of the criminal justice system.'

Stanford University law professor Michele Dauber launched a campaign to remove Judge Persky from the bench over what she calls a lenient sentence and plans to speak at a rally outside the commission Friday.

'His statements during the sentencing show that he does not understand sexual violence. He does not understand violence against women,' she told The Associated Press on Thursday.

'And so we are going to recall him, and we're going to replace him with someone who does.'

Lawyers who have appeared in Judge Persky's court have called him a fair and respected judge. 

He has no record of judicial discipline and previously worked as a Santa Clara County prosecutor responsible for keeping sexual predators locked up.

But Persky is also facing backlash even from inside his own courtroom after 20 potential jurors refused to sit on his bench this week.

Judge Persky has faced a backlash after sentencing Stanford University swimmer Brock Turner, 20, to six months in jail last week for assaulting a 23-year-old woman behind a campus dumpster last January
Turner is pictured in an undated booking photo above

Judge Persky has faced a backlash after sentencing Stanford University swimmer Brock Turner, 20, to six months in jail last week for assaulting a 23-year-old woman behind a campus dumpster last January

Turner is pictured as he enters the Santa Clara Superior Courthouse in Palo Alto on June 2

Turner is pictured as he enters the Santa Clara Superior Courthouse in Palo Alto on June 2

The jurors, who were asked to sit on an unrelated stolen goods case, were all dismissed on Wednesday after claiming that serving under Judge Persky would cause 'undue hardship'.

The incident followed revelations reported this week that Judge Persky previously ruled in favor of two college baseball players accused of gang raping a 17-year-old girl along with eight others.

Jessica Gonzalez accused ten men, nine of whom were members of the De Anza College baseball team, of taking turns to rape her while she was passed out at an off-campus party in 2007.

Gonzalez was identified by ABC 7 after waiving her right to anonymity in order to speak out.

Witnesses included three members of a women's soccer team who said they broke down the door to find Gonzalez semi-conscious inside, surrounded by the men, with vomit on her face. 

Before the trail, Judge Persky dismissed charges against two of the men due to lack of evidence, while the teenager's attorneys dismissed charges against another two later in proceedings.

Three of the men, who were facing the most serious charges, reached plea agreements - leaving just two standing trial for their part in the attack. 

The men were not charged in criminal court, because then-District Attorney Dolores Carr said everyone involved was too drunk to establish what happened, and were instead taken to civil court.

During proceedings, Judge Persky controversially allowed Facebook pictures of Gonzalez on a night out a year after the attack took place to be shown in court, which reportedly included an image of her dressed in fishnets and a suspender belt while holding a shot of liquor between her breasts. 

Judge Persky said in court that he followed a recommendation from the county's probation department and cited Turner's clean criminal record and the effect the conviction will have on his life

Judge Persky said in court that he followed a recommendation from the county's probation department and cited Turner's clean criminal record and the effect the conviction will have on his life

The two men were eventually acquitted of all charges, which ranged from negligence to rape, while Judge Persky's decision came in for yet more criticism.

Meanwhile, at Santa Clara Superior Court on Wednesday, Judge Persky ended up finding 17 jurors willing to serve on his case, and empaneled 12 of them, plus two alternates, KPIX 5 reported. 

Since Turner's sentencing, sources close to the judge have claimed he has received death threats.

Judge Persky is prohibited from speaking publicly because Turner is appealing his conviction on felony assault and attempted rape charges.

Stephanie Pham, a Stanford student who co-founded the Association of Students for Sexual Assault Prevention, said the sentence stirred anger and frustration on campus.

'When the sentencing came out, people lost faith in the legal system,' she said. 

'Survivors felt alienated and silenced by the fact that someone found guilty is still going to be given a lenient sentence.'

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