Judge Who Gave Leniency to Rapist is Removed from Criminal Docket in Illinois

 By Victor Trammell

On January 13, an Illinois judge was removed from a criminal court docket in Adams County after exploding at a prosecutor whose approval of sexual assault survivors on Facebook he mistook for an insult against him.

Judge Robert Adrian’s assignment change follows widespread condemnation for overturning a decision in a juvenile rape case. On January 12, Adrian ejected trial counsel Josh Jones of the Adams County State’s Attorney’s Office from his courtroom for concurring with a Facebook post critical of the judge’s finding.

According to the Herald-Whig, Chief Judge Frank McCartney of the Eighth Judicial Circuit issued an administrative order reassigning Adrian to the small claims, legal disputes, and probate dockets, as well as other civil court matters, commencing forthwith.

McCartney hinted at the decision when he said on January 12 that he was “made aware of the issue.” He then traveled to Quincy, Illinois, the same day, per the Muddy River News, to study some of Adrian’s remarks.

“There are going to be some things done over the next few days and weeks that will hopefully alleviate some of the issues,” he told the Muddy River News on the afternoon of January 12 before refusing to share anything else.

Also, McCartney did not immediately reply to a request for comment from The Daily Beast on January 14.

Adrian convicted Drew Clinton, 18, of felony sexual assault in October for raping Cameron Vaughan, 16, during a graduation party in May 2021.

Adrian’s remaining criminal court docket cases, McCartney informed the Herald-Whig, will be allocated to some other judge until future notification.

Adrian stunned the nation last month by overturning Clinton’s sentence. He later began arguing that adults at the scene of the crime had abandoned their parenting obligations. He also started preaching about swimming pool clothing.

“There are going to be some things done over the next few days and weeks that will hopefully alleviate some of the issues,” he told the Muddy River News on the afternoon of January 12 before refusing to share anything else.

“This is what happens when parents do not exercise their parental responsibilities, when we have people, adults, having parties for teenagers, and they allow coeds and female people to swim in their underwear in their swimming pool. And, no, underwear is not the same as swimming suits,” Adrian said at the January 3 sentencing hearing.

“They provide liquor to underage people, and you wonder how these things happen,” the disgraced judge went on to say.

Clinton was locked up for 148 days in the Adams County Jail but faced a required minimum of four years in prison before Adrian’s perplexing turnaround ruling.

Adrian said that almost five months in prison was a “fair penalty” for the teen rapist, who recently reached 18 years of age at the time of the judgment modification.