Syracuse, NY -- A New Jersey teen, who was shielded from rape charges several years ago by a judge who cited his good grades and “good family," went on to attend Syracuse University.
The teen, identified only as “G.M.C.,” was accused of videotaping himself raping a 16-year-old girl at an alcohol-fueled pajama party. He then sent the video to friends with the text: “when your first time having sex was rape," prosecutors said.
N.J. judge: Teen who boasted of ‘rape’ deserves break for good grades, good family
An appellate court shot down a judge's decision to shield accused rapist from adult prosecution.
But New Jersey Family Court Judge James Troiano ruled that whatever G.M.C. did as a 16-year-old didn’t really amount to rape. He forbade prosecutors from charging G.M.C in adult court.
A social media firestorm ensued after the judge’s decision became public for the first time last month. And SU released a statement Tuesday in response to the contraversy.
“The individual in question is no longer a student at Syracuse University,” the brief statement read. “Syracuse University does not tolerate sexual and relationship violence of any kind, including incidents that occur off campus.”
Because G.M.C. was not adjudicated in adult court, he could honestly say on any college application that he had not been convicted of a crime.
The judge’s rationale in sparing the teenager adult rape charges sparked nationwide attention after first being reported by The New York Times.
“[T]his young man comes from a good family who put him into an excellent school where he was doing extremely well,” the judge wrote years ago, in keeping the teen’s case confidential. “He is clearly a candidate for not just college but probably for a good college. His scores for college entry were very high.”
Numerous people took to social media in an attempt to identify the teenager and trace his path to SU.
SU said federal law prohibited it from naming the student or commenting further. Because the accused rapist has not yet been publicly identified in court, Syracuse.com | The Post-Standard is not naming him, either.
But an appellate court blasted Troiano for showing bias toward the apparently privileged teen. Their June decision made public Troiano’s ruling for the first time.
Besides noting G.M.C’s good grades and “good family,” the judge also criticized prosecutors for not telling the victim that pressing charges would ruin G.M.C.'s life.
The appellate court took issue with nearly all of the judge’s decision.
“That the juvenile came from a good family and had good test scores we assume would not condemn the juveniles who do not come from good families and do not have good test scores...” the appellate court wrote.
Their decision overturned Troiano’s order barring prosecutors from charging G.M.C. in adult court. It’s unclear how the case will proceed from here.
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