Santa Clara County Judge Cleared in Stanford Swimmer Sentence Investigation

SANTA CLARA COUNTY, CA -- No evidence of misconduct has been found and a case on the judge who sentenced a former Stanford University swimmer to six months in jail for sexual assault is being closed, a state commission announced Dec. 19.

The Commission on Judicial Performance said the sentence handed down by Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Aaron Persky to Brock Turner "was within the parameters set by law and was therefore within the judge's discretion."

The commission said it had received thousands of complaints and petitions concerning Persky, whose sentence sparked international publicity, criticism and outrage for being too lenient. But the agency said it found no evidence of bias by the judge and that the sentence was consistent with the recommendation of a probation report.

The San Francisco-based commission investigates complaints of judicial misconduct such as corruption and abuse of authority and has the power to impose punishments ranging from censure to removal from office.

It announced its decision in a 12-page explanatory statement.

"The commission has concluded that there is not clear and convincing evidence of bias, abuse of authority or any other basis to conclude that Judge Persky engaged in judicial misconduct warranting discipline," one passage in the statement read.

Turner, 21, a former member of the Stanford swim team, was convicted in March 2016 of three felony counts of assault against a woman who was unconscious from intoxication in a field outside a fraternity house at the university.

Turner served about three months of his six-month sentence and was freed for good behavior in September, but still must serve three years of probation and must also as a sex offender for the rest of his life.

Bay City News contributed to this report/Image via Shutterstock