N.J. judge under fire for lenient comments on rape

(CNN) – A New Jersey family court judge is under fire after ruling a 16-year-old boy accused of raping an intoxicated 16-year-old girl should not be tried as an adult in part because he “comes from a good family.”

The decision by Judge James Troiano was reversed last month, allowing prosecutors to pursue an indictment in adult court.

Joey Jackson, a CNN legal analyst, said, “The judge completely disregarded the law. Let’s be clear here. What the judge was trying to determine had nothing to do with whether someone’s background was privileged, whether someone’s background wasn’t, it was a simple legal question.”

The case stems from a 2017 incident where the alleged attacker, identified in court papers as G.M.C, and the alleged victim, identified as “Mary,” were both intoxicated.

According to court documents, G.M.C. filmed himself penetrating Mary from behind on his cell phone, displaying her bare torso and her head hanging down.

He forwarded the video clip to several friends and later sent a text saying: “[W]hen your first time having sex was rape.”

The prosecutor argued G.M.C. had sex with Mary while she was “physically helpless and unable to provide consent”, and that G.M.C.’s behavior was “calculated and cruel.”

In denying the prosecutor’s request to move the case to adult court, Judge Troiano argued the incident wasn’t a “traditional case of rape” because it did not involve two or more attackers or a weapon.

He said G.M.C.’s text was just a 16-year-old kid saying “stupid crap” to his friends.

Troiano also dismissed “Mary’s” level of intoxication, and noted the boy was an Eagle Scout, saying, “This young man comes from a good family who put him into an excellent school where he was doing extremely well. He is clearly a candidate for not just college but probably for a good college.”

The judge also said trying the teen as an adult could ruin his life.

Troiano has not commented on the developments.

© 2024 KOBI-TV NBC5. All rights reserved unless otherwise stated.

Skip to content