Brock Turner’s Judge Delivered An Ultralight Sentence In A Child Porn Case

Judge Aaron Persky became the subject of national outrage earlier this summer when he gave Brock Turner the judicial equivalent of a slap on the wrist — a jail sentence of six months after Turner was convicted of raping an unconscious woman behind a dumpster. This outcome sparked debate regarding Turner’s privilege and brought about discussions in regards to the pervasiveness of victim-blaming. Persky’s treatment of the Turner case fueled a massive recall effort aginst him to vacate his post as Santa Clara County Superior Court judge. Now, a new report in The Guardian may help this cause, as it reveals more evidence of Persky’s lenient treatment of some sex offenders.

The Guardian‘s Sam Levin writes that last year, prior to the Turner trial, Persky ordered a 48-year-old northern California man, Robert James Chain, to serve just four days in jail after Chain pleaded guilty to possessing child abuse images. Chain, a father and husband, was discovered to possess dozens of these images, including one in which an adult was “penetrating a naked infant girl,” along with child pornography videos.

“Police reports reveal that officers who searched Chain’s house found dozens of disturbing videos and images of minors, including one depicting the sexual assault of an infant,” writes Levin, adding that Chain ultimately only spent one night in county jail. “The case provides a sharp contrast to more than a dozen similar cases in the same county in which other judges ordered six months behind bars for defendants convicted of the same felony charges.”

Other examples of Judge Persky’s leniency toward violent men and/or sex offenders include his sentencing of Ming Hsuan Chiang to just 12 weekends in jail so that he could maintain his Silicon Valley job after Chiang beat and nearly killed his former fiancée.

(Via The Guardian)

×