Orange County Board of Supervisors formally demand controversial Judge M. Marc Kelly to resign

ByABC7.com staff KABC logo
Wednesday, April 22, 2015
OC Board of Supervisors demand controversial judge to resign
The Orange County Board of Supervisors have formally demanded the resignation of Superior Court Judge M. Marc Kelly after his decision to give less than half the mandatory sentence to a man who sexually assaulted a 3-year-old girl.

SANTA ANA, Calif. (KABC) -- The Orange County Board of Supervisors are formally demanding the resignation of Superior Court Judge M. Marc Kelly after his decision to give less than half the mandatory sentence to a man who sexually assaulted a 3-year-old girl.

The board adopted a resolution Tuesday to "formally rebuke, censure and demand the resignation of Judge Kelly from the Orange County Superior Court."

In December, Kelly reduced the sentence of Kevin Rojano-Nieto's to 10 years in state prison. The 20-year-old was convicted of sodomizing a 3-year-old girl, to whom he's related.

Kelly called the mandatory minimum sentence of 25 to life "cruel and unusual."

The judge's decision sparked outrage among victims' rights groups and online petitions demanding his resignation.

The Board of Supervisors had previously threatened to launch a formal recall petition if he didn't resign.

Orange County District Attorney Tony Rackauckas was appealing the judge's decision.