Utah Judge Under Fire After Saying That Former Mormon Bishop Rapist Was a Good Man

A Utah judge has been severely criticized after calling a convicted rapist a good man.

A Provost, Utah judge, ignited a state-wide controversy after saying during a rapist’s trial that, despite his despicable act, he is a good man. The man’s victim, a 23-year-old woman who declared that she was groped multiple times by the suspect during her stay at his house, says that the Utah Judge’s comment is more than inappropriate and demands his removal from court duties.

Utah Judge Makes Inappropriate Comments

On Friday, Utah Judge Thomas Low recited the sentence in the case of Keith Robert Vallejo, a former Mormon pastor from Provo who sexually assaulted 23-year-old Julia Kirby. However, during Vallejo’s trial, in the presence of his victim, Judge Thomas Low concluded the hearing by saying that, despite’s the accused’s horrendous deed, he is still a great and good man, and that even extraordinary men, such as Vallejo, still commit abominable acts.

Naturally, the Low’s statements regarding Vallejo’s personality managed to ignite a controversy, which is spearheaded by the former Mormon pastor’s victim. During a press statement, Julia Kirby, who allowed her name to be made public, declared that the judge seemed more interested in coddling the convict rather than trying to comfort his victim.

It would also appear that Ms. Kirby isn’t the only one who believes that the Utah judge stepped out of line. Jennifer Yim, of the Judicial Performance Evaluation Commission, believes that Low managed to set a precedent when he decided to free the rapist from police custody despite him being convicted by the jury.

Furthermore, following his decision, the Utah judge received tens of e-mails, Facebook messages, and voicemails from people who challenged his decision. However, Low’s statements during Vallejo’s final trial managed to incite more people.

The Case of Keith Robert Vallejo

For those of you who are unfamiliar with Keith Robert Vallejo’s case, here are the highlights. In 2013, Vallejo, who was serving as a pastor at the Provo Mormon church, sexually assaulted Julia Kirby, who was 19-year-old at that time.

According to the man’s affidavit, Vallejo, who’s Kirby relative, invited the woman to share his house in Provo during the time spent studying at the Brigham Young University. During her stay at Vallejo’s house, Kirby has been groped multiple times by the individual.

For his deeds, Keith Robert Vallejo was sentenced to life in prison, after being found guilty of one charge of object rape and ten counts of forcible sexual abuse. As for the Utah judge, Kirby declared that she will file a complaint against Thomas Lowe to have him removed from the court.

Image source: PublicDomainPictures

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Ryan has started his career as a web developer and designer before joining us. He enjoys the creativity work and loves experimenting with various techniques in both print and web. He covers the social media, technology and gadgets updates.