The XX Factor

The Controversial Judge in Brock Turner’s Sex-Crime Case Has Recused Himself From Another

Judge Aaron Persky
Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Aaron Persky, June 27, 2011.

Jason Doiy/The Recorder via AP

Aaron Persky, the Santa Clara County judge who faced nationwide backlash earlier this year when he sentenced convicted felon Brock Turner to only six months in prison for sexually assaulting a woman, has recused himself from a different sex-crimes case.

According to the Mercury News, which first reported Persky’s recusal, the judge was to decide whether to reduce the conviction for Robert Chain, a plumber who was convicted for possession of child pornography, from a felony to a misdemeanor.

The hearing was set for Aug. 25, but Persky said in a brief court filing late last week that the publicity from the case was affecting his family. According to the Los Angeles Times, the filing read:

While on vacation earlier this month, my family and I were exposed to publicity surrounding this case. This publicity has resulted in a personal family situation such that “a person aware of the facts might reasonably entertain a doubt that the judge would be able to be impartial.”

The Mercury News reported that Persky had “indicated he might [reduce the conviction] when he sentenced Chain to four days in county jail last year.” The newspaper added:

Such reductions are not unheard of, but in Chain’s case, it would have come a year earlier than a probation officer recommended and has been cited by Persky’s critics as an example of his unwarranted leniency toward sex offenders. Most judges impose six-month sentences on defendants in similar cases.

According to the Associated Press, “Chain was arrested in May 2014 after a San Jose sex crimes investigator remotely watched his computer download child porn images. About 30 images were found on Chain’s electronic devices, including one involving an infant.”

Chain’s attorney, Brian Madden, told the AP that reducing Chain’s conviction to a misdemeanor would “make it easier for the 48-year-old to find future employment, housing, and financing because a felony conviction would appear during background checks.”

More than a million people who were upset with Persky’s relatively light sentence for Turner have signed a petition calling for his removal. The same critics were pointing to Chain’s case as evidence of Persky’s soft approach with sex offenders.

Chain’s hearing will now be handled by Judge Kenneth P. Barnum in Palo Alto, California, on Oct. 6.