Who is James Troiano, the N.J. judge under fire for controversial comments about teen in rape case scandal – NJ.com

A Monmouth County Superior Court judge is under scrutiny after describing a 16-year-old accused of aggravated sexual assault, as a teenager who “comes from a good family who put him in an excellent school.”

Family division Judge James Troiano denied the prosecutor’s office waiver to try a 16-year-old in adult court. The teen is accused of recording himself sexually assaulting an intoxicated 16-year-old girl then sharing the video with his friends.

In denying the waiver, Troiano expressed concern about “the devastating effect a waiver would have on G.M.C.’s life. Troiano saida that in addition to being in a good school, the defendant “was doing extremely well” and noted that he is an Eagle scout.

After the prosecutor’s office appealed Troiano’s decision, state appellate court judges reversed the decision, criticizing the judge for not weighing the merits of the case.

This is not the first time Troiano, who is a retired judge on recall status, has been involved in deciding whether a juvenile should be tried in adult court.

As a full-time judge in Essex County from 1992 to 2012, Troiano made decisions to try juveniles in adult court in two high-profile cases in New Jersey.

In a case that The Star-Ledger described at the time as “one of New Jersey’s most horrifying child abuse cases,” Troiano ruled that Wesley Murphy be tried in adult court after the 17-year-old was charged in 2003 for his role in the death of a 7-year-old.

The 7-year-old’s corpse was found mummified in a Newark home after Murphy said he accidentally killed the child with a wrestling move. Two other children were found at the scene “starving and filthy, and in dire need of medical care,” the Star-Ledger reported.

In another prominent case, widely known as the Newark schoolyard shootings, Troiano ordered three juveniles be tried in adult court in 2008 for their role in the execution-style killings of three college-age friends behind Mount Vernon School in Newark. Two of the juveniles were convicted and sentenced to life in prison, while the third pleaded guilty to lesser crimes and received a 30-year sentence.

In 2004, Troiano also made headlines when he ordered a gag order on the prosecutors, lawyers and parents of two Montclair High School football players accused of kidnapping and raping a 15-year-old, according to multiple news reports. Charges were later dismissed, according to the New York Times.

Troiano, 69, has been on the bench in Monmouth County serving a two-year recall term since January, said a spokeswoman for the administrative office of the courts.

Troiano’s decision to deny the waiver in the sexual assault case and his accompanied remarks, which were first reported by New Jersey 101.5, has garnered national attention and criticism from sexual assault survivor organizations.

“These comments by the judge really amplify the cultural and systemic barriers survivors are up against,” said Patricia Teffenhart, the executive director of the New Jersey Coalition Against Sexual Assault. … “These types of comments are everything survivors fear when reporting a sexual assault.”

In an interview Wednesday, Monmouth County Prosecutor Christopher J. Gramiccioni said his office goes through an exhaustive 11-step process when determining if an alleged crime should be waived up to adult court. Since 2016, the prosecutor’s office has waived up seven cases, he said.

“The facts and circumstances as alleged are, this 16-year-old girl was, if not unconscious, was barely in a state of consciousness and highly intoxicated,” Gramiccioni said. “A) A juvenile can’t consent and B) not in that state. We have an obligation to represent the victim’s interest and wellbeing.”

He declined to specifically comment on Troiano’s comments.

“We know the judge,” Gramiccioni said. “He is an experienced, seasoned jurist and a professional. We saw it differently here and had to take the appeal.”

“The appellate decision speaks for itself,” he added.

Troiano signed an order last week waiving the defendant to adult court, a court official confirmed to NJ Advance Media Tuesday. A spokesman for the administrative office of the courts said Troiano had no comment on the case.

Troiano is not the only judge who came under fire this week for comments made regarding an alleged sexual assault.

Middlesex County Superior Court Judge Marcia Silva also denied a motion to waive a 16-year-old to adult court on charges that he sexually assaulted a 12-year-old in 2017.

The 16-year-old allegedly penetrated the 12-year-old forcefully over her objections, according to the appellate ruling.

Silva said that even if the girl’s claim was true, “the offense is not an especially heinous or cruel offense beyond the elements of the crimes that the waiver statute intends to target.”

The Middlesex Prosecutor’s Office appealed Silva’s decision. The appellate court ruled in favor of waiving the juvenile to adult court.

A spokesman for the administrative office of the courts said Silva had no comment on the case.

According to news reports, Silva is a former Middlesex County assistant prosecutor.

Joe Atmonavage may be reached at jatmonavage@njadvancemedia.com. Follow on Twitter @monavage. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

Have a tip? Tell us. nj.com/tips

Get the latest updates right in your inbox. Subscribe to NJ.com’s newsletters.