Judge Who Asked Sexual Assault Victim If She Closed Her Legs Faces Suspension

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Huffington Post

04/06/2019 12:19 pm ET

Superior Court Judge John Russo said he was only trying to get more information.

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — An ethics committee has recommended a three-month, unpaid suspension for a New Jersey judge who told a woman she could “close your legs” to prevent a sexual assault.

The committee released its recommendation to the state Supreme Court Wednesday in the case of Superior Court Judge John Russo, who sits on the bench in Ocean County in southern New Jersey. He has been on administrative leave since 2017.

The woman appeared before Russo in 2016 seeking a restraining order against a man she said sexually assaulted her. According to a transcript of the exchange, when the woman described her encounter with the man, Russo asked her, “Do you know how to stop somebody from having intercourse with you?”

When the woman answered affirmatively and said one method would be to run away, Russo continued, “Close your legs? Call the police? Did you do any of those things?”

Read more: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/john-russo-judge-close-legs-suspension_n_5ca8cf2ee4b0dca03302275d

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Judge John Russo



Judge John Russo vs. women

[cstanleytech]

1. Some people should never be judges. nt

[INdemo]

4. This Judge is probably now on Trumps short list for court of appeals

[marble falls]

2. What a total jerk.

[Sherman A1]

3. Should have been fired

in my opinion.

[Evolve Dammit]

5. Pathetically stupid comment/ position for someone with such power, and...

How many Trump life-time judges like this will now endure?

[SWBTATTReg]

6. Disgusting. How about the guys closing their legs? What else can someone say, after a ...

supposedly pillar of the neighborhood and courts, says something like this? I'm shaking my head...

[DURHAM D]

7. So mid-last century. nt

[demosincebirth]

8. I wonder how he became a Judge?

[Uncle Joe]

9. Kicked and recommended.

Thanks for the thread Judi Lynn.

[Ohiogal]

10. Appalling

He should have been fired on the spot.

[Baitball Blogger]

11. And we will have to go through this with each of the conservative judges

that are being rushed through the courts.

[pansypoo53219]

12. what century is he living in? he needs to go back to the 1800's.

[dalton99a]

13. N.J. judge who told woman to 'close your legs' now facing sexual harassment suit from ex-clerk

https://www.nj.com/ocean/2019/03/nj-judge-who-told-woman-to-close-your-legs-now-facing-sexual-harassment-suit-from-ex-clerk.html

Desir recounted an incident on Feb. 13, 2017 when Russo allegedly told her his wife worried that Desir was “too attractive” to work with him, and also commented that he would give his wife a pass to cheat on him “because she was such a good mother to his son.”

She also said he would stand so close to her, despite being asked not to, that she “positioned chairs around her desk in order to create a physical barrier between she and Defendant Russo.”

On another occasion, the suit said, he summoned her to his office, sat with his legs “spread wide open” and tried to get her to come closer. When she refused to get closer than five feet, he yelled at her to just leave, the suit said.

Desir also claimed he made comments she believed were motivated by racial prejudice, including asking her if all of her siblings had the same father and if her parents were married, the suit said. When he learned she had Haitian heritage, he asked her how she felt about being “colonized,” the suit said.

[TexasBushwhacker]

14. What a pig n/t

[Demovictory9]

27. Ugh

[Chellee]

15. Has this guy been on PAID leave since 2017??

And just now they're thinking of giving him an unpaid suspension of 3 months? Oh well, that'll teach him.

[dlk]

16. He's Looks Like that Type

[elias7]

17. For consistency's sake, I hope he would ask the same of his wife, mother or daughter...

...in similar circumstances. Not to say that he couldn't be raped....

[kimbutgar]

18. It should a permanent expulsion.

Bs on that committee. He needs to be made an example of how a judge should not be.

[Nitram]

19. Makes me want to vomit.

[warmfeet]

20. He deserves to clean out clogged sewer lines (city mains) the rest of his life.

How's that for being a judge.

He can choke on sewage for all I care.

[keithbvadu2]

21. 'Rape can't cause pregnancy': A brief history of Todd Akin's bogus theory

'Rape can't cause pregnancy': A brief history of Todd Akin's bogus theory

https://theweek.com/articles/472972/rape-cant-cause-pregnancy-brief-history-todd-akins-bogus-theory

https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-1-d&q=can%27t+get+pregnant+by+rape

[Rebl2]

22. He should

lose his judgeship and lose license to practice law.

[fascisthunter]

23. Rapist in charge

[Mike Nelson]

24. He should...

… shut his mouth.

[Exotiki]

25. He should be disbarred

What a disgrace.

[Demovictory9]

26. Pig

[iluvtennis]

28. Should be disbarred for life. What a cretin.

[YOHABLO]

29. Obviously it's always the woman's fault. This guy is a piece of shite

[KY_EnviroGuy]

30. This dim bulb probably asks shooting victims...

"did you hold up your hands in defense?"........

I assume this man has never in his past had something horrible enough happen to him where he goes into morbid fear and frozen mode to avoid having his head beaten to a pulp.

...... ..........

[ck4829]

31. That is messed up

[oldsoftie]

32. AAAAARRRRGGGGHHH

[lunatica]

33. Another mansplainer judge