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Subscribe to RSSA sexual assault victim who was groped by an off-duty police officer is demanding an apology from an Arizona judge who during a sentencing hearing for the defendant told her: "If you wouldn’t have been there that night, none of this would have happened to you.”
coconino.az.gov
Coconino County Superior Court Judge Jacqueline Hatch.
An online petition drive launched on Change.org, a popular website for social activism, has garnered more than 4,600 supporters nationwide calling for Coconino County Superior Court Judge Jacqueline Hatch to resign for her remarks during a court hearing on Wednesday.
Hatch, a Republican appointed by Gov. Jan Brewer in June 2010, did not return a telephone call from NBC News seeking comment. The woman's name was withheld because she is a victim of a sexual crime.
According to the Arizona Daily Sun, a jury convicted 43-year-old Robb Gary Evans of a felony charge of sexual abuse on July 2. Prosecutors said Evans walked up behind the victim in a Flagstaff bar, put his hand up her skirt and groped her last summer. The former Arizona Department of Public Safety officer had been facing a maximum sentence of up to 2 ½ years in prison, but received two years of probation, community service and treatment. He was fired after his conviction.
The Daily Sun's account of the court hearing:
Bad things can happen in bars, Hatch told the victim, adding that other people might be more intoxicated than she was.
"If you wouldn't have been there that night, none of this would have happened to you," Hatch said.
Hatch told the victim and the defendant that no one would be happy with the sentence she gave, but that finding an appropriate sentence was her duty.
"I hope you look at what you've been through and try to take something positive out of it," Hatch said to the victim in court. "You learned a lesson about friendship and you learned a lesson about vulnerability."
Hatch said that the victim was not to blame in the case, but that all women must be vigilant against becoming victims.
"When you blame others, you give up your power to change," Hatch said that her mother used to say.
The victim said Hatch's comments were inappropriate, adding that she felt Hatch was accusing her of allowing herself to become a victim.
"It felt like she was saying to me, 'If you wouldn't have been there that night, it wouldn't have happened to you.' Yeah, well, it probably would have happened to someone else," the victim told the Daily Sun during a telephone interview.
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“I’m still kind of in shock that she said that to me,” the victim said. “Coming from a woman, I would expect her to be a little bit more realistic about women being strong and independent and the fact that there’s nothing wrong with that.”
Hatch's comments have caused an uproar in Flagstaff, the Daily Sun reported.
“It takes a lot to come forward, to ask for help, to share the details of a traumatic event with strangers,” Kris Stark, executive director of Victim/Witness Services for Coconino County, told the Daily Sun. “The message from Victim Witness to a sexual assault survivor is that you are not responsible for an unwanted, uninvited assault on your body.”
Hatch, who was elected to a full term in November 2010, is up for reelection in 2014.
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Hmmm, looks like just another Judge-wannabee-great, who thinks (she-Ms. Hatchur) nose-it-all & izz for sure gonna tell the victem, ... that if she din wear a dress, then she wunt haff'to, >>> worry about getting groppedd no mo! ... YesssssireeeeBILLYbobThornton says - - - Americas Finest >>> AT WORK, fo sho uno. SHUD mebbe promote her upto the Spreeme Ct, as it looks like SHE wud'be a great Cannndiddate fer it, too amongst all of her other FANTASEEEEZ of "GRANDIER". <> SHEESH, what a JOKE this Judge is/was.
ANybody else "excvept a cop" wouldn not have gotten off w/probation & or a slippity-slap-slappy on the wrist. (REALLY HARD TOO, I bet'cha.) n >>> GOOD WURKKK Judge, yesssirreeee! Why any-one kin see that'chu BELONG on the bench simply by looking at yur face/photograph, which izz chokk-fulla Wisdom.
Of course this judge is a republican, and of course we all know that had the victim been raped, she would not have gotten pregnant, because "the body shuts that down". Crap crap crap. This judge needs to step down, and for the love of God, do not let her near any other sexual abuse victims.
This Judge needs to step down for her comments to the victim period ! Our system needs to change when it comes to cops breaking the laws they are to enforce and up hold. Prosecutors in Portland Or. stated he don't like to charge any cop because they are cops. I feel cops who break the law should be held accountable with twice the penalty because they know better they are at crime's scene's of DUII's, but the cops never get punished for their crime's. Cops are above the law and this needs to change NOW !
im surprised the guy even lost his job. if he hadnt been in law enforcement he probably would have been like an everyday citizen and given the max. its said that arizona has more people locked up percapita than any state in the us.
probation ?>??
I agree with Judge! It is the same as a prostitute crying about getting raped. Is anyone asking how she was behaving while at bar or wearing? How long was that skirt? It is not OK for anyone to defile another but the Judge wants her to think about the situation she has put herself in, after all it could have been worse. Bars are OK for immoral people while others ask, why is "weed" illegal but not alcohol? It does the same thing!
I haven't been to a bar due to ruffees or whatever they are called and other reasons. the point is there is a danger and I don't want it to happen to me. Of coarse the same thing can happen walking down the street during the day but again, the Judge wants her to think about how she has compromised herself. Does any one think about their reputation any more?
Go to hell. a short skirt or top is not a reason to be raped. A WOMAN HAS THE RIGHT TO WALK DOWN THE STREET NAKED AND STILL NOT BE TOUCHED BY ANYONE.
iF YOU THINK MelliRu IS CORRECT THEM GO BACK TO LIVING IN YOUR CAVE SKUM BAGS.
Prostitutes also complain about getting raped!
Prostitutes also complain when they get raped!
This POS religious POS judge needs to be derobbed and debarred.
What a piece of work that POS judge is. Figured Jan "Melted Face" Brewer put her on the bench.
If you park your car on the street in certain neighborhoods in Newark it will be stolen.
Walk naked as a young woman at night in Harlem you will be raped.
If you put yourself in danger you might be harmed. It has nothing to do with rights. The woman's rights were upheld in court, but the damage had been done. Any woman must be aware of their surroundings to be safe.
Fire the judge next election. Obviously the wrong person in the wrong job