Aaron Persky's recall moved from a threat to a formal petition as critics seek to remove the Superior Court judge who came under heavy scrutiny for giving former Stanford University swimmer Brock Turner a 6-month slap on the wrist in a sexual assault case last June.
Turner, who was 20 when sentenced for raping an unconscious woman at Stanford, served only three months of his six-month sentence.
The petition was issed on Monday. Fifty of Santa Clara County's community leaders have supported the petition with hopes that it will be on the June 2018 ballot, according to NBC News.
"Santa Clara County residents deserve a judge who will protect victims — not rapists," the petition said.
Persky has tried to defend the sentence, arguing that he has "a reputation for being fair to both sides."
"I believe strongly in judicial independence. I took an oath to uphold the Constitution, not to appease politicians or ideologues," he said. "When your own rights and property are at stake, you want the judge to make a fair and lawful decision, free from political influence."
Turner, a three-time All-American high school swimmer, committed the assault in January 2015, according to the Los Angeles Times.
He was originally expected to get up to 14 years in prison. However, at the time, prosecutors were asking that he be sentenced to just six years.
When Persky sentenced Turner to just six months, he argued that a harsher punishment could have a "severe impact" on him.
The organizers of the petition will need to garner more than 58,000 signatures in 160 days, said NBC News.
"We are going to work day and night for the next 12 months, and we are going to recall Aaron Persky from office," said Bob Livengood, the former mayor of Milpitas.
"Women have had enough of rape culture. We are ready to take action and recall this judge," said Michelle Dauber, a Stanford law professor who is leading the petition.
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