Remove Judge Robert Peeler
The Issue
Judge Robert Peeler presided over the case of John Austin Hopkins, a gym teacher at an elementary school. Hopkins was sentenced for 34 counts of gross sexual imposition for the students he was meant to educate and keep safe- each count had a potential five-year prison term. Judge Peeler gave Hopkins "96 months in prison and five years of probation" and ordered him to register as a tier two sex offender. He was accused of this conduct with 28 students. 28 students, 96 months. That's 3.42 months per student. That's what Judge Peeler thinks that a child's trauma is worth, less than four months for each student. This is unacceptable. He faced a minimum of one year per count, which should be 24 years, and a maximum of 174 years. He bypassed this by "grouping the 36 months sentence into Group A and said this time was to be served concurrent. He took the 60 months sentence and grouped this into Group B and said this time was to be served concurrent. Group A and Group B were to be served consecutive, for a total of 8 years". He did not receive even the minimum. It is rare that child abusers and rapists are brought to court because the process is draining and oftentimes terrifying. It is even rarer that abusers get charged. The fact that the survivors of Hopkins' abuse were able to see him found guilty but were still let down by Judge Peeler is unacceptable. He should be recalled immediately. He currently serves on the Warren County Common Please Court in Ohio and was appointed by Governor Ted Strickland in 2009. The current governor of Ohio is Bill DeWine and the policy in Ohio states that "Judges may be removed by a concurrent resolution of two-thirds of the members of both houses of the general assembly". I am petitioning DeWine and the general assembly to propose a resolution to remove Judge Peeler on the grounds that he is unfit to serve in his position. Not only did he carry out this lenient sentence but he also allowed the defense to have a video recording of Hopkins abuse kept from the jury because he agreed that it was an "attempt to sandbag" the defense. He also stated the parents were allowed to testify but he could "change his mind if the testimony becomes repetitive". The behavior of Judge Peeler throughout this trial is unacceptable and he should no longer hold his position. Survivors deserve to be heard and validated, and it is clear that he is not doing this. The fact that Judge Peeler originally called the charges "overwhelmingly concerning" but made the decision to give Hopkins only eight years in prison proves that he was well aware of the harm Hopkins had caused and refused to accurately sentence him.
While you're here, please sign a petition started by one of the mothers of the survivors that urges reform for gross sexual imposition charges: https://www.change.org/p/representative-scott-lipps-gross-sexual-imposition-with-a-minor-sentence-reform
I quoted her petition above when I noted how the judge bypassed the minimum per count requirement.
Sources:
The Issue
Judge Robert Peeler presided over the case of John Austin Hopkins, a gym teacher at an elementary school. Hopkins was sentenced for 34 counts of gross sexual imposition for the students he was meant to educate and keep safe- each count had a potential five-year prison term. Judge Peeler gave Hopkins "96 months in prison and five years of probation" and ordered him to register as a tier two sex offender. He was accused of this conduct with 28 students. 28 students, 96 months. That's 3.42 months per student. That's what Judge Peeler thinks that a child's trauma is worth, less than four months for each student. This is unacceptable. He faced a minimum of one year per count, which should be 24 years, and a maximum of 174 years. He bypassed this by "grouping the 36 months sentence into Group A and said this time was to be served concurrent. He took the 60 months sentence and grouped this into Group B and said this time was to be served concurrent. Group A and Group B were to be served consecutive, for a total of 8 years". He did not receive even the minimum. It is rare that child abusers and rapists are brought to court because the process is draining and oftentimes terrifying. It is even rarer that abusers get charged. The fact that the survivors of Hopkins' abuse were able to see him found guilty but were still let down by Judge Peeler is unacceptable. He should be recalled immediately. He currently serves on the Warren County Common Please Court in Ohio and was appointed by Governor Ted Strickland in 2009. The current governor of Ohio is Bill DeWine and the policy in Ohio states that "Judges may be removed by a concurrent resolution of two-thirds of the members of both houses of the general assembly". I am petitioning DeWine and the general assembly to propose a resolution to remove Judge Peeler on the grounds that he is unfit to serve in his position. Not only did he carry out this lenient sentence but he also allowed the defense to have a video recording of Hopkins abuse kept from the jury because he agreed that it was an "attempt to sandbag" the defense. He also stated the parents were allowed to testify but he could "change his mind if the testimony becomes repetitive". The behavior of Judge Peeler throughout this trial is unacceptable and he should no longer hold his position. Survivors deserve to be heard and validated, and it is clear that he is not doing this. The fact that Judge Peeler originally called the charges "overwhelmingly concerning" but made the decision to give Hopkins only eight years in prison proves that he was well aware of the harm Hopkins had caused and refused to accurately sentence him.
While you're here, please sign a petition started by one of the mothers of the survivors that urges reform for gross sexual imposition charges: https://www.change.org/p/representative-scott-lipps-gross-sexual-imposition-with-a-minor-sentence-reform
I quoted her petition above when I noted how the judge bypassed the minimum per count requirement.
Sources:
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Petition created on June 6, 2020