Calif. Judge Says Rape Victim 'Didn't Put Up Fight; The Body Shuts Down'
Rape Comments Were 'Biased and Insensitive,' Says Judicial Commission Chairman
A California judge has come under fire for comments made during a rape trial in which he told a victim her body should have "shut down" before taking 10 years off of the accused rapist's sentence.
"I'm not a gynecologist, but I can tell you something: If someone doesn't want to have sexual intercourse, the body shuts down. The body will not permit that to happen unless a lot of damage is inflicted, and we heard nothing about that in this case," Superior Court Judge Derek Johnson said in court, according to the Associated Press.
"That tells me that the victim in this case, although she wasn't necessarily willing, she didn't put up a fight," Johnson added.
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His comments did not fall on deaf ears and were reported to the California Commission on Judicial Performance, which voted 10-0 to impose a public admonishment on Thursday.
"In the commission's view, the judge's remarks reflected outdated, biased and insensitive views about sexual assault victims who do not 'put up a fight.' Such comments cannot help but diminish public confidence and trust in the impartiality of the judiciary," wrote chairman Lawrence J. Simi.
The case centered on a man who allegedly threatened his ex-girlfriend with a heated screwdriver before also threatening to beat her with a metal baton. The unnamed victim reported the threats to police the very next day but did not report the rape until 17 days after it occurred.
It often takes victims a long time to be able to report a rape, according to research done by numerous psychiatrists and rape crisis centers. However, according to California's Penal Code, the statute of limitations to report rape or sexual assault is one year for anyone over the age of 18.
Johnson has since apologized for his comments, but the damage may have already been done to his credibility and judgment in these cases.
