A Canadian judge may lose his federal court position after comments he made in a sexual assault case back in 2014, where the alleged attacker, Alexander Wagar, sexually assaulted a woman over a bathroom sink at a house party. During the sexual assault trial, the judge, Robin Camp, asked the victim that “why couldn’t [she] just keep [her] knees together,” The Huffington Post reports.
‘He made me hate myself,’ sex assault victim says of Alberta judge https://t.co/hZNwpoGhRs pic.twitter.com/Crnc2Xo3tB
— HuffPost Canada (@HuffPostCanada) September 7, 2016
It was further reported that Camp asked the victim why she couldn’t “sink [her] bottom down into the basin so he couldn’t penetrate you” and stated that “Young wom[e]n want to have sex, particularly if they’re drunk,” HuffPost reports.
According to HuffPost Canada, The victim reported that Camp’s comments “made [her] hate [herself] and he made [her] feel like [she] should have done something.” Camp’s comments made the victim contemplate suicide.
Camp ultimately acquitted the perpetrator, but his verdict was later overturned on appeal, HuffPost reports.
According to CNN, Camp has been in a week-long judicial council hearing after three legal academics filed a complaint in regards to the comments he made, and may ultimately determine whether he will lose his position.
Alice Woolley, one of several legal experts at the University of Calgary who filed complaints against Camp, stated, “I hope that they will look at all of the issues raised by his decision — not only his treatment of the complainant, which was truly appalling, but also his disregard for the law.”
Camp has since apologized for the comments he has made, stating that he was “rude and facetious.” A justice, a law professor and a psychologist who were paid by Camp to mentor him after his comments all told the hearing that he has worked hard to learn from this experience, HuffPost Canada reports. They claimed that Camp had minimal knowledge about sexual assault law and had not been formally trained on how to conduct a sexual assault trial.
The council has stated that Camp “engaged in stereotypical or biased thinking in relation to a sexual assault complainant.”
After the hearing, the council will send its recommendation for Camp to the full Canadian Judicial Council, CNN reports.