Victim Assaulted By Off Duty Police Officer Demands Apology From Unsympathetic Judge

A victim of sexual abuse is calling for an apology from the judge who sentenced her abuser, and the city of Flagstaff, Arizona is backing her up. In Wednesday’s court ruling, the jury found 43-year-old police officer Robb Gary Evans guilty of sexual abuse for his actions at the Green Room bar last summer. The Arizona Daily Sun reports that the off-duty police officer walked up to the victim at the bar, “[put] his hand up her skirt and [ran] it across her genitals.” According to the jury, this is a class five felony.

According to Judge Jacqueline Hatch, the victim was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.

“If you hadn’t have been there that night, none of this would have happened to you,” Hatch told the victim in the court hearing Wednesday. NBC News reports that “the victim said Hatch’s comments were inappropriate, adding that she felt Hatch was accusing her of allowing herself to become a victim.”

Flagstaff is now in an uproar over the scandal, standing with the victim as she demands an apology for the judge’s harsh words.

Myra Ferell-Womochil, director of Community Based Services for the Northland Family Help Center, told Arizona Daily Sun reporter Eric Betz:

“I want to commend the brave woman who came forward and “stood up for something bigger than her. I want her to know that there is an army of people standing with her.”

According to Betz, several public official came forward to state that “it [is] never appropriate to place blame on a victim and said such actions discourage others from coming forward.”

The nature of sexual assault and abuse is sensitive at best, and, if there is hope for victims to come forward and seek justice, there must be a safe environment for them to do so. The city of Flagstaff, Arizona believes this and is standing by the victim as she demands an apology from Hatch for implying that the victim was somehow at fault, making herself vulnerable to Evan’s abuse.

The victim responded to Hatch’s comment in a telephone interview with the Daily Sun:

“It felt like she was saying to me, ‘If you wouldn’t have been there that night, it wouldn’t have happened to you.’ Yeah, well, it probably would have happened to someone else.”

Evans was sentenced a mere two years of probation, 100 hours of community service, and treatment. According to the Arizona Daily Sun, “he does not have to register as a sex offender.” Evans received credit for four days of jail time. He was fired from the police department shortly after the charges were made.

The victim still waits for an apology.