Judge cleared of misconduct for 6-month sentence in Stanford assault case

By PAUL ELIAS THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

9 years ago

Brock Turner, right, makes his way into the Santa Clara Superior Courthouse in Palo Alto, Calif., June 2, 2016. A letter written by Turner’s father was made public over the weekend by a Stanford law professor who wants the judge in the case removed from office because Brock Turner’s sentencing. (Dan Honda/Bay Area News Group/AP)

SAN FRANCISCO — A California agency that oversees judicial discipline in the state says a judge committed no misconduct when he sentenced former Stanford University swimmer Brock Turner to six months in jail for sexually assaulting a young woman on campus.

The California Commission on Judicial Performance ruled Monday that there was no evidence that Santa Clara County Judge Aaron Persky displayed bias in handing down a sentence decried as too lenient by critics across the country.

The commission said it received thousands of complaints and petitions regarding Persky and the sentence.

The 21-year-old was released from jail in September after serving three months. He will be on probation for three years in his native Ohio and is a registered sex offender.

Persky is the target of a recall campaign.