Illinois Judge Removed From Bench After Tossing Teen’s Rape Conviction

A veteran Illinois judge has been removed from the bench after an oversight panel ruled that he engaged in misconduct and tried to circumvent the law when he reversed an 18-year-old’s rape conviction.

The Judicial Inquiry Board filed a three-count amended complaint with the Illinois Courts Commission in January 2023, accusing Adams County Judge Robert Adrian of “willful misconduct, conduct that was prejudicial to the administration of justice and that brought the judicial office into disrepute.”

After a three-day hearing on the complaint in November, the commission concluded Friday that instead of just a reprimand or censure, the Quincy, Illinois, judge’s behavior is “ample grounds for removal.”

Adrian “has engaged in multiple instances of misconduct, he abused his position of power to indulge his own sense of justice while circumventing the law, he lied under oath on multiple occasions, and he has failed to acknowledge his misconduct,” the commission ruled.

“Much more was required of [Adrian],” the ruling said. “Based on our findings in this case and Commission precedent, we conclude the only appropriate sanction is to remove [Adrian] from the office of circuit court judge, effective immediately.”

Drew Clinton had just turned 18 when he was charged in June 2021 with three counts of criminal sexual assault against a 16-year-old girl at a graduation party the previous month. Clinton faced allegations that he knowingly committed sexual acts by threat or or force and that he committed such acts knowing the girl was unable to consent.

In October 2021, a brief trial ended with Adrian finding Clinton guilty on one of the three counts of felony sexual assault. The judge revoked Clinton’s bond at the time due to the