June 6 (UPI) -- A judge heavily criticized for giving a six-month jail sentence to a former Stanford swimmer convicted of sexual assault was recalled Wednesday -- the first in California to be so punished in 86 years.
Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Aaron Persky controversially issued the sentence after Brock Turner was found guilty of sexually assaulting an unconscious woman outside a fraternity party. He could have spent up to 14 years in prison, but was released after three months.
The 56-year-old judge said the court's probation officer had recommended a sentence of a year or less after speaking with the victim, identified only as Emily Doe. Persky also cited Turner's youth and lack of criminal record, the "severe impact" the prison term would have on him and his obligation to register annually with police as a sex offender for the rest of his life.
Persky's 2016 decision sparked the recall movement, which said Turner's case was just one of many lenient sentences given out by the judge.
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Tuesday night, California voters favored recalling Persky.
LaDoris Cordell, a former Santa Clara County judge who opposed the recall, told The San Francisco Chronicle Tuesday was a "sad day" for the California judiciary.
"If they don't go along with popular opinion... they can lose their jobs," Cordell said of state judges.
Persky told CNN last week he believed the recall campaign threatened "the independence of judges."
"Generally, judges should accept criticism," Persky said. "But when it gets to the step of a recall ... that, for me, is a step too far."
Persky was cleared in 2016 of accusations of bias by a state judicial commission. The group found no evidence of bias at Turner's trial.
