Judge Robert K. Adrian, who serves the Eighth Circuit Court in Illinois, has left sexual assault victim Cameron Vaughan angry and depressed after he reversed his own decision to let Drew Clinton, the teenager formerly convicted of raping her, go free.
The judge also blamed the parents, who attended the party where the rape took place, for the horrific incident.
Judge Robert K. Adrian lets teen go free after he was found guilty of sexually assaulting another teenager.
Judge Robert K. Adrian, 64, did not believe it was a “just sentence” to confine Drew Clinton, 18, to four years in prison after he was found guilty of sexually assaulting Cameron Vaughan, 16.
In the state of Illinois, there is a mandatory minimum sentence of four years for people convicted of sexual assault.
However, Judge Adrian thought Drew Clinton had already served enough time in prison. Drew Clinton had already spent five months in a county jail waiting to be sentenced.
Last year, he was found guilty by the same judge for sexually assaulting Cameron Vaughan in the basement of a friend’s home during a party.
Earlier this month, the defendant’s attorney begged the judge to override the mandatory 4-year prison sentence or overturn the guilty verdict during the sentencing.
The lawyer’s tactics worked on Judge Robert Adrian, who said that while he could not ignore the minimum sentence, he could overturn the verdict and set the teenager free.
Drew Clinton was released after the judge declared he had suffered “plenty of punishment” in custody during the last five months.
The judge explained his surprising decision by making this statement in the courtroom: “By law, the court is supposed to sentence this young man to the Department of Corrections. This court will not do that, and that is not just. Mr. Clinton has served almost five months in the county jail. For what happened in this case, that is plenty of punishment. That would be a just sentence. The court can’t do that.”
He added: “But what the court can do, because this was a bench trial, the court will find that the People failed to prove their case. The court is going to reconsider its verdict on Count 3, and therefore, the case – the Defendant will be released from custody.”
Judge blames adults for teen rape, not the alleged criminal.
Adults were also present at the graduation party, which took place last May at a home in Quincy, Illinois.
At the hearing, the judge did not hold back and lashed out at the parents and other adults at the party who failed the teen attendees by letting them have alcohol.
He angrily blamed the older party goers for the rape by saying: “I cannot believe that adults that were involved in this case – parents and other adults who were involved in this case – took their responsibilities so lightly for these teenage kids. I cannot believe the permissiveness and the lack of responsibility taken. This is what happens when parents do not exercise their parental responsibilities. We have people, adults, having parties for teenagers, and they allow coeds and female people to swim in their underwear in their swimming pool.”
He went on to state: “They allow 16-year-olds to bring liquor to a party. They provide liquor to underage people, and you wonder how these things happen. The court is totally disgusted with that whole thing. Mr. Clinton, you’re going to be released. Go home if you still have one.”
Rape victim slams judge and assaulter as she reveals struggles after the incident.
According to the reports, Vaughan — who has waived her right to stay anonymous — woke up in the basement to find Clinton sexually assaulting her while holding a pillow over her face.
She had drunk “six little shooter things” and was reportedly vomiting, prompting some of the adults to suggest she should go home.
The alleged rapist claimed they had consensual sex, and Vaughan was less drunk than she claimed to be.
Standing outside of the courtroom, Cameron Vaughan bravely identified herself as the victim and said she felt like it was “pointless” speaking out when justice was not served.
The teenager confessed: “Drew should be in prison if it wasn’t for that stupid judge. His decision is unexplainable. I woke up at my friend’s place with a pillow over my face, so I couldn’t be heard and Drew Clinton inside of me. I asked him to stop multiple times, and he wouldn’t. I finally got off the couch and pushed him off of me, and he jumped up and just started playing video games as if nothing had happened.”
Cameron Vaughan also spoke to the media and explained that his daughter’s life had not been the same since she was violated — she went from a straight-A student who is now struggling to keep a C average.
The disappointed father shared: “What a low blow. You have just basically not given my daughter any justice. I have sat by my daughter’s bedside for three, four months, five months. … She is not well from this. Way too many things happened to say this did not happen. While this guy’s ripping me, as a parent, what was I supposed to do? Was my 16-year-old daughter drinking under the age at a graduation party that I was unaware of? Absolutely. Were a bunch of these girls swimming in a pool in their underwear? Yep. Is that a terrible mistake?”
He concluded by: “Yes. Did [Clinton] make a mistake? Sure. Would he take it back if he could? Probably. But the fact is, he still violated her without her permission. Pardon my language, but I feel like I was s**t all over by this judge.”
Thousands of people, who are asking for justice for the teen, have signed on a Change.org petition demanding for charges to be brought against the judge who failed her.
