Judge in Brock Turner case ousted from office after primary election

CALIFORNIA — The judge whose controversial sentence in a sexual assault case involving an Oakwood High School graduate that sparked national outrage was recalled from office after a California primary election Tuesday.

RELATED: Oakwood HS, ex-Stanford swimmer Brock Turner seeks new trial in sex assault case

Judge Aaron Persky became the target of a well-financed recall campaign aimed at convincing Santa Clara County voters to unseat him after he sentenced former Stanford swimmer Brock Turner to six months in jail for the January 2015 sexual assault of an intoxicated, unconscious woman behind a dumpster on Stanford’s campus after a fraternity party.

RELATED: Brock Turner: 'I was just trying to hook up with a girl'

After the polls closed Tuesday, one Standford law professor, who also led the recall campaign, said that she was optimistic about the outcome.

Judge Aaron Persky is the first sitting judge swept from office in California in nearly a century.

Persky’s decision in the Turner case two years ago sparked widespread fury in rejecting prosecutors’ request for a six-year prison sentence. The judge said he took into consideration factors such as Turner’s age and lack of a criminal record, the victim’s trauma and the fact that both were drinking.

RELATED: Brock Turner registers in Greene County as Tier III sex offender

Turner, who was convicted of three felony counts of sexual assault in March 2016, wound up serving three months under a policy aimed at reducing jail overcrowding. He’s currently serving a three-year probation and must register his address every 90 days with the sheriff’s office in Xenia for the rest of his life as a Tier III sex offender.

If the recall effort succeeds, Persky would become only the fourth judge in California history to be booted out of office before his term is up, and the first in 86 years.

Two candidates are running on the same ballot to succeed Persky, if he is ousted: civil attorney Angela Storey and prosecutor Cindy Hendrickson.

RELATED: Standford: Brock Turner given 'harshest sanction' school could give 

The Associated Press contributed to this report.