Rape-Accused Teen Shown Leniency by Judge Because He Comes From a ‘Good Family’

A teenager who is accused of sexually assaulting a drunk 16-year-old girl has been shown leniency by a New Jersey judge because he had strong grades at school and came from a “good family,” The New York Times reports. The boy, also 16, filmed himself penetrating the drunk girl and later sent the video to his friends with the caption: “When your first time having sex was rape.” Yet a family court judge said it wasn’t rape, and wondered aloud whether it was even sexual assault. He said the boy came from a good family, had good grades, and told prosecutors they should have explained to the girl and her family that pressing charges would destroy the boy’s life. “He is clearly a candidate for not just college but probably for a good college,” Judge James Troiano of Superior Court said while denying prosecutors’ motion to try the boy as an adult. The judge has been rebuked by an appeals court in a ruling that warned the judge against showing bias toward privileged teens and moved the case to a grand jury, where the accused will be treated as an adult.