Judge in Stanford rape case faces recall campaign

Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Aaron Persky is facing a recall effort after he sentenced Stanford University swimmer Brock Turner, 20, to just six months in jail for raping an unconscious woman behind a dumpster near campus. Critics are calling Turner's sentence a "slap on the wrist" and a "mockery of the seriousness of his assault." Stanford law professor Michele Dauber, who is leading the campaign for Persky's removal, says that the judge, a Stanford alum, "bent over backwards to make an exception."

Persky cited Turner's lack of a criminal record and the anguish he faced from media scrutiny as justification for his sentencing decision. "Obviously, the prison sentence would have a severe impact on him,” Persky said in court. "The defendant is youthful and has no significant record of prior criminal offenses."

Turner could have faced up to 14 years in state prison for his conviction on three sexual assault charges, including assault with intent to commit rape of an intoxicated person, sexually penetrating an intoxicated person with a foreign object, and sexually penetrating an unconscious person with a foreign object. Instead, he will serve six months in county jail and then face probation.

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