A Canadian Judge is under fire after he asked a victim in a rape case in open court, “why couldn’t you just keep your knees together?”.
Advertisement
A judicial hearing has now wrapped up in Calgary on the fate of federal judge Robin Camp and the lawyer presenting the case against him says there’s sufficient evidence to remove him from the bench.
He apologized to the woman for his comments and called them “rude and insulting”.
Marjorie Hickey told the panel that Camp’s comments are enough to “shock the conscience and shake the confidence of the public”.
While he awaits his fate as a judge, the victim he tormented in court had to fear for her safety, knowing that her perpetrator was able to walk free.
The verdict was appealed and a new trial is set to begin in November.
The 64-year-old judge said his words came from a “deep-rooted” bias “that all women behave the same way and should resist”, CBC News reported.
According to the The Washington Post, Camp became a federal judge past year. According to the Calgary Sun, Camp said that he most wanted to apologise to the woman before he was cross-examined. “I can’t guarantee that I’m not prejudiced in other areas, but what I have learned is to be constantly vigilant. and to ask for help when I need it”, he said.
According to the unnamed victim, “He made me hate myself and he made me feel like I was some kind of slut”, before stating that he left her feeling that she was at fault for the 2011 assault when she was 19. “I was and will always be vigilant. ideal I will never be”, he said.
Camp’s daughter, who said she herself is a rape victim, testified Thursday that her father’s comments were “disgraceful”. He suggested if she moved her pelvis, she could have avoided him, according to court documents. They have to be far more patient.
“I think it’s become apparent that I didn’t know what I didn’t know”, Camp said, adding, “Please remember I wasn’t in this country through the 1960s, “70s and ’80s”.
Advertisement
During his Friday testimony, Camp acknowledged his lack of knowledge about Canadian criminal law. “I’ve made the role of each judge in this country more hard and I’m sorry for that”. In his legal career, he focused mostly on contract and bankruptcy cases, he said.
