Calls To Oust 2 NJ Judges Who Cut Breaks For Alleged Sex Abusers

Calls are mounting from lawmakers to oust two New Jersey judges who reportedly cut breaks – and even offered kind words or praise – to two alleged sex abusers.

Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin, D-Middlesex, said he was concerned by the actions of the two Superior Court judges toward young victims of alleged sexual assault crimes in two separate cases and called for their resignation or removal from the court system.

“The conduct and comments by both Judge Marcia Silva and Judge James Troiano are alarming and indefensible, and hold no place in the court of law," he said.

Coughlin was referring to new reports that Troiano, who sits in Monmouth County, gave a teen a break on a sex assault charge because he's from a "good family" and "clearly a candidate" for college. The state Superior Court judge ultimately him from being charged as an adult, according to court records revealed this past week.

An appellate court eventually overturned that Monmouth County decision last month, saying the likelihood of conviction "was not for the judge to decide."

Read more: Teen's From 'Good Family,' So NJ Judge Gave Break On Sex Assault

Silva is a Middlesex County judge who ruled that a 16-year-old boy should not be tried as an adult for sexually assaulting a 12-year-old girl.

The most controversial part of Silva's decision to try the teen as a juvenile included the following, in which she wrote: "The victim claimed that the [j]uvenile pushed her, grabbed her hands, removed her clothing and then penetrated her without her actual consent... However, beyond losing her virginity, the state did not claim that the victim suffered any further injuries, either physical, mental or emotional."

Read more: After Rape Decision, Middlesex Senators Want Judge Silva Removed

Gov. Phil Murphy has called the comments by both judges "unacceptable" and says there should be an investigation, but he has not yet called for their removal.

In New Jersey, removing a judge can begin with the governor filing a complaint with the state Supreme Court. A committee then determines the fate of the judge.

The majority of the Assembly can also vote to impeach a judge, and two-thirds of the Senate is needed to vote for his or her removal.

Senate President Steve Sweeney also called for ousting both judges, saying: “It’s baffling to imagine that anyone who has read the judges’ statements, or the appellate rebuke of their opinions, and does not believe they should be removed from the bench immediately.

“I stand with the Middlesex, Monmouth and Bergen County legislators of my caucus who have already urged the judicial branch to take strong, corrective action," Sweeney said. "These judges have shown an egregious absence of clear judgment, and if they are allowed to maintain their positions it will undermine public faith in the very institution of justice they serve.”

Assemblywoman Verlina Reynolds-Jackson said that Silva's suggestion that a child of 12 who was sexually assaulted did not suffer "especially serious harm, and that the act was not "especially heinous or cruel," is "horrendous."

"These comments made by someone whose profession it is to represent justice and fairness in the state only add to a victim’s pain and suffering," she said. "It’s victim-shaming and unproductive in a survivor’s quest for justice."

Assemblywoman Annette Quijano, chair of the Assembly Judiciary Committee, said Troiano’s actions "clearly indicate he cares more about the future of an accused rapist than he does about the victim."

"He saw fit to protect the accused by saying the ‘young man comes from a good family who put him into an excellent school where he was doing extremely well’ and that he is ‘clearly a candidate for not just college but probably for a good college,’ " she said. "Being a good student has nothing to do with being an alleged rapist."

“I strongly condemn the callous, disturbing and appalling comments of these judges. Silva and Troiano should not be sitting judges in the state of New Jersey or anywhere else.”