Judge under fire for tossing conviction sent to small claims

QUINCY, Ill. (AP) — A judge in western Illinois who sparked outrage when he threw out the sexual assault conviction of an 18-year-old man is no longer presiding over a criminal court docket. The (Quincy) Herald-Whig reports an administrative order filed Thursday by Chief Judge Frank McCartney of the Eighth Judicial Circuit assigned Adams County Judge Robert Adrian to small claims, legal matters and probate dockets and other civil cases, effective immediately. Adrian had originally found Drew Clinton guilty in October of sexually assaulting a 16-year-old girl, but later tossed the conviction to avoid giving Clinton the mandatory minimum sentence of four years in prison. Adrian said the 148 days Clinton spent in jail was punishment enough.