SANTA ANA, Calif. (AP) — Officials in Southern California are formally calling for a judge to resign after he gave a shorter-than-standard sentence to a man who sexually assaulted a 3-year-old girl.
The Orange County Register reports (http://bit.ly/1cZgjI5 ) that the Orange County Board of Supervisors voted 5-0 Tuesday to endorse a harsh rebuke of Superior Court Judge M. Marc Kelly’s decision, which outraged victims’ rights groups and sparked recall demands.
Kelly sentenced Kevin Rojano-Nieto to 10 years in prison on April 3, ruling the mandatory minimum sentence of 25 years to life was unconstitutional because it was cruel and unusual punishment. Kelly said a court-ordered examination concluded Rojano-Nieto wasn’t a sexual predator and acted on impulse when he attacked a relative.
The board has no power to remove judges because Kelly is an elected official.
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Information from: The Orange County Register, http://www.ocregister.com
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