MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. (AP) — Judge Aaron Persky says he has no regrets.
The Northern California judge says he would handle the sexual assault case of former Stanford University swimmer Brock Turner the same way today as he did almost two years ago, though it’s the reason he is the target of a June 5 recall election and has become the self-described “most hated man on the internet.”
In a lengthy interview with The Associated Press, the wiry 56-year-old former college lacrosse player argued the Santa Clara County recall effort is “fundamentally unfair” because it boils down a thick criminal case to Twitter hashtags. He gets a little teary-eyed when he talks about being turned into a one-dimensional caricature as the judge who condones rape.
“I expected some negative reaction,” Persky said. “But not this.”
The recall effort comes amid the growing influence of the #MeToo movement, and observers say it will serve as a bellwether of the movement’s influence on national politics.
Persky says he has resisted friends’ call to quit and relieve the mounting pressure on his wife and two young sons because judicial independence is at stake. He is fighting the effort, he says, because recalling judges over unpopular rulings threatens the integrity of the judiciary.
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