Reduced sentence for 3-year-old girl's rapist sparks outrage
SANTA ANA, Calif. - A California father is leading a crusade to get an Orange County judge removed from the bench, after the judge reduced the sentence of a man convicted of raping a 3-year-old girl, reports CBS Los Angeles.
Judge M. Marc Kelly reportedly sparked outrage when he reduced the sentence, saying, "The man has not meant to harm the little girl."
Bryan Scott launched a Facebook campaign to have him removed from the bench. In just 48 hours, the Facebook page garnered 6,000 likes.
"Why is this person allowed to sit on this bench and make these rulings? We put him there, and if we put him there, someone has to step up and say he needs to be removed from the bench," Scott told the station.
According to the station, Judge Kelly reduced the sentence of Kevin Rojano to 10 years.
Rojano was charged with sodomizing a female family member last summer.
Orange County D.A. Tony Rackauckas said he will appeal the judge's decision.
"The judge has handed down a sentence in this case that in my view is an illegal sentence. This crime carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 25 to life," Rackauckas said.
According to court documents obtained by CBS Los Angeles, the judge said he thought the maximum sentence was "cruel and unusual punishment."
"The facts don't support there was any violence or callous disregard for the victim's well being," he wrote.
At sentencing, Judge Kelly said Rojano had shown remorse.
"In an instant, he reacted to a sexual urge and stopped almost immediately," Kelly wrote in his decision.
The judge went on to note that when the 3-year-old took the stand, she appeared happy and healthy.
"It doesn't appear she suffered any serious violent physical injuries, and by all accounts, she appears headed for a normal life," the judge wrote.
The station made several attempts to contact Kelly for comment, but those calls were not returned.