New campaign to remove judge in Stanford sexual assault case launched

STANFORD, Calif. -- A formal campaign kicked off on Wednesday to recall the judge who sentenced former Stanford swimmer Brock Turner to six months for sexual assault.

This is on top of hundreds of thousands of petition signatures expressing outrage across the U.S. and overseas.

Turner's grandparents wrote the judge saying: "We were shocked and stunned by the outcome... Brock is the only person being held accountable for the actions of other irresponsible adults."

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The new recall site is trying to collect the 70,000 signatures needed to remove Judge Aaron Persky, paid for by Progressive Women Silicon Valley, a political action committee.

Stanford law professor Michele Dauber, who's a friend of the victim, says the global outrage over the six-month sentence given to the former Stanford swimmer is a true gauge of public sentiment.

"There is supposed to be a role for the voters to engage and for the public to engage like any other elected official, this judge is subject to the will of the people," she said.

An ABC producer found Persky walking in the courtroom hallway in Palo Alto Tuesday, but he has not responded to requests for an interview. The court says he cannot comment on an active case.

MORE: Thousands ask for judge to be recalled, saying ex-Stanford swimmer's sentence too lenient

No one is alleging misconduct, but some recalled a 2011 case in his courtroom when an alleged rape victim tried to get damages from a group of De Anza College baseball players. Persky allowed seven photos into evidence that showed the woman partying a year after the incident; a decision some considered damaging to her case.

"The whole world is watching him, and hopefully the superior court will begin to look at it more carefully and look at him and his decisions more carefully," said Next Door Solution Victims advocate Kathleen Krenek.

A co-founder of Stanford's student group on sexual assault prevention hopes the anger against the sentence will turn into positive change.

"It pervades every corner of this campus, and there's so many angles to this issue, so many people who need to be involved," said Stanford student Stephanie Pham. "And hopefully this case will be that first spark to that fire."