Judge Persky’s recall isn’t just about the Stanford swimmer sexual assault case. He has a history special treatment towards privileged men, particularly athletes, convicted of sex crimes. Since August 2016:
Robert Chain was convicted of possessing pornographic images of toddlers being penetrated in lewd positions. Persky gave him a 4-day sentence and the opportunity to reduce his felony to a misdemeanor after 1 year of probation.
Ikaika Gunderson was convicted of domestic violence after punching, strangling, and pushing his girlfriend out of a car. Following the conviction, Persky allowed Gunderson to delay his sentencing for over a year so he could play football at the University of Hawaii without having to notify the state’s probation department. During this time, Gunderson was rearrested for domestic violence against a different victim.
Tony Chiang was convicted of domestic violence for beating his girlfriend and pulling out fistfuls of her hair; Persky sentenced him to 72 days of “weekend jail” so it wouldn’t interfere with his work schedule. Keenan Smith too was convicted of domestic violence against his girlfriend; Persky tailored his sentence around his football schedule.
This pattern of doing special favors for convicted sex offenders warrants an immediate recall of Judge Persky.