(NewsNation) — A former Illinois judge was removed from the bench for overturning the rape conviction, accusing the victim of lying and blaming her parents for the incident. In response, the victim rebutted the judge’s statements.
In a Monday interview on NewsNation’s “Dan Abrams Live,” Robert Adrian defended his decision to overturn the conviction of then 18-year-old Drew Clinton, an individual found guilty of sexually assaulting then 16-year-old Cameron Vaughan at a graduation party.
Expressing disgust at Adrian’s remarks, Vaughan criticized his lack of remorse and accused him of fabricating excuses to justify his actions in a Tuesday interview on the show.
“He doesn’t think he did anything wrong. I mean, he’s saying Drew didn’t even rape me. … He may have not admitted to the penile penetration. But he did admit to his putting his fingers in me,” Vaughan said. “I just don’t understand what the judge is even saying. He’s just trying to make up lies to back himself up.”
Adrian, explaining his decision, asserted that evidence suggested Clinton had not engaged in penetrative intercourse with Vaughan. He claimed DNA evidence indicated no presence of semen, implying Vaughan’s initial testimony was inaccurate. The judge insinuated Vaughan had not been truthful.
“He’s saying there was no semen. That does not mean there was no DNA. His DNA was still inside of me. And my DNA was in his underwear. How else does my DNA get into his underwear?” Vaughan said.
In October 2021, Adrian had found Clinton of Taylor, Michigan, guilty of sexual assaulting Vaughan during a May 2021 graduation party.
The Illinois Courts Commission removed Adrian from the bench Friday after it held a three-day hearing in Chicago in November on a compliant filed against Adrian. Its decision says Adrian “engaged in multiple instances of misconduct” and “abused his position of power to indulge his own sense of justice while circumventing the law.” The commission could have issued a reprimand, censure or suspension without pay, but its decision said it had “ample grounds” for immediately removing Adrian from the bench in western Illinois’ Adams County.
The state Judicial Inquiry Board filed a complaint against Adrian after the judge threw out Clinton’s conviction in January 2022, with the judge saying that the 148 days Clinton had spent in jail was punishment enough.
The complaint said Adrian had acknowledged he was supposed to impose the mandatory four-year sentence against Clinton, but that he would not send him to prison.
“That is not just,” Adrian said at the sentencing hearing, according to court transcripts. “I will not do that.”
Vaughan expressed relief at Adrian’s removal from the case, signaling a step towards closure. She emphasized the need for accountability and denounced what she called Adrian’s attempts to distort the truth.
“He can’t just use his words. I mean, all he does is lie,” Vaughan said.
During the interview, Adrian appeared to shift blame onto Vaughan, alleging she provided alcohol at the party and implicating the parents for inadequate supervision. Vaughan refuted these claims, recounting the traumatic events of the party. She described being intoxicated, assaulted with a pillow over her face, and left alone to struggle for breath.
“This young lady actually brought alcohol into the party, gave it to different people. And I thought it was the parents who had the party’s responsibility to actually watch over the kids. They’re the ones to have the responsibility here. They’re the ones that are supposed to be safe keeping the kids. Instead, they’re providing liquor to them, or letting them do whatever they want,” Adrian said.
Adams County court records show that Clinton’s guilty verdict was overturned because prosecutors had failed to meet the burden of proof to prove Clinton guilty.
But in Friday’s decision, the commission wrote that it found Adrian’s claim that “he reversed his guilty finding based on his reconsideration of the evidence and his conclusion that the State had failed to prove its case to be a subterfuge — respondent’s attempt to justify the reversal post hoc.”
Clinton cannot be tried again for the same crime under the Fifth Amendment. A motion to expunge Clinton’s record was denied in February 2023.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.