Illinois judge goes on trial after REVERSING sex attacker’s conviction for attacking a sleeping girl, 16, at a party, saying 148 days spent in custody was ‘sufficient punishment’
An Illinois judge may lose his seat on the bench after overturning a teenager’s sex abuse conviction for attacking a sleeping 16-year-old.
After a three-day trial, Judge Robert Adrian found Drew Clinton, now 18, guilty of sexually assaulting Cameron Vaughan, now 18, at a graduation party at another teen’s home in Quincy, Illinois, in 2021.
But at the sentencing hearing months after his conviction, Adrian said the boy had spent “an extensive” time behind bars, 148 days, and that while he could not sentence him to prison, he could overturn the sentence and could convict him. free.
The judge said at the time: ‘He has no criminal record whatsoever, no criminal record at all. By law, the court is supposed to sentence this young man to the Department of Corrections… This court will not do that. That’s not alone. There is no way what happened in this case should send this teen to the Department of Corrections. I won’t do that.’
Under state law, Clinton should have served a minimum of four years in the Illinois Department of Corrections.
Now the Illinois Judicial Inquiry Board has accused Adrian of circumventing the state’s mandatory sentencing law by overturning the guilty verdict against Clinton, as reported by the U.S. Attorney General. Chicago Tribune.
Illinois Judge Robert Adrian could be removed from the bench after overturning his own sex offender conviction
After a three-day trial, Judge Adrian Drew found Clinton, now 18, guilty of sexually assaulting Cameron Vaughan, now 18
Cameron – who waived her right to anonymity – says she passed out drunk in the basement and woke up to see Drew sexually assaulting her while holding a pillow over her face
Adrian has also been accused of lying under oath about his reasons for overturning the conviction and kicking a prosecutor out of the courtroom after liking a social media post critical of the judge.
The judge told the prosecutor: (‘I don’t go on social media, but my wife does, and she saw the thumbs up you gave to people who attacked me… I can’t be honest with you. Go away.’
Adrian has denied any wrongdoing in his filings with the Court Commission, which will decide the case this week in Chicago.
Penalties can range from a formal reprimand to dismissal.
Cameron – who waived her right to anonymity – says she passed out drunk in the basement and woke up to see Drew sexually assaulting her while holding a pillow over her face.
Clinton claimed they had consensual sex and that she was not as drunk as she claims.
According to court transcripts, after overturning Clinton’s conviction, Judge Adrian blamed parents and adults for “having parties for teenagers, and they let students and female people swim in their pool in their underwear.” And no, underwear is not the same as swimwear.’
He added: ‘It’s just – they allow 16 year olds to bring liquor to a party. They provide liquor to minors, and you wonder how these things happen. Well, that’s how these things happen. The court is disgusted by this whole matter.’
On Facebook, Vaughan wrote that what Judge Adrian did was even worse than what Clinton allegedly did.
Cameron says she was devastated after the judge overturned Clinton’s conviction and activists rallied her support
Her father Scott Vaughan told the outlet, “I was filled with rage until I got home where I could let it all sink in, and then it really hurt.”
“Judge Adrian basically said it was mine and my parents’ fault that led to me being raped,” Vaughan wrote.
Adrian sent a purported copy of a court order to a local newspaper explaining why he did not find Cameron’s testimony credible, but the newspaper subsequently reported that the order was never officially entered into the file.
The judge also sent a letter to the Muddy River News newspaper, accusing the local Democratic Party of “a political attack on me, a well-known Christian and conservative.”
Cameron told the Chicago Tribune she was devastated after the judge overturned Clinton’s conviction and activists rallied her support.
Her father Scott Vaughan told the outlet, “I was filled with rage until I got home where I could let it all sink in, and then it really hurt.
‘Oh my God, how is this possible? What comes next? Does this kid just get a slap on the wrist? What does this say for everyone else? What does it say to my then 9 year old son? That it’s okay if they drink and wear skimpy clothes?’
a petition calls for Adrian’s removal from the bench has more than 175,000 signatures