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| Waupaca County Courthouse Wisconsin |
By Brody Levesque (Washington DC) MAY 10 | Waupaca County Wisconsin Trial Judge Philip Kirk told a molestation defendant who insisted he was heterosexual, ""I think you were born gayer than a sweet smelling jock strap," before sentencing former New London school bus driver Delton Gorges to seven years in prison Monday. Gorges, who drove a school bus for 33 years, pleaded no contest to four counts of fourth-degree sexual assault.
Judge Kirk also told the 71 year old Gorges that he felt that Gorges was the victim of a homophobic society in the 1940s and 1950s:
“I think you're one of the victims here as well. I think you're a victim of society,” said Kirk. I think that if anyone believes that in the last 10 years or 15 years all of a sudden you developed an interest in homosexuality and young boys, then I must have looked ravishing in my prom dress this year," he continued.
Local Fox News Affilate WLUK-FOX11 reports that some in the community were offended by Judge Kirk's words:
Watch Judge Kirk's Remarks:A leader of a Green Bay gay rights group was taken aback by some of Kirk's choice words. But while he says some remarks were offensive, that's not what bothers him.“Sometimes people don't say the right thing, but they potentially mean well, “said Andrew DeBaker, Co-Chair of New Pride. “The thing that concerns me is the linking homosexuality, linking being gay with, in this case, child molestation.”“His remarks have impact. They have impact on the victims, and the victims’ family. They have impact on the community and they obviously have impact on the offender,” said Janine Geske, former Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice.Geske, who's now a Marquette University professor, says judges have a powerful and influential position. And with it comes certain responsibility.“Somehow it seemed to compare homosexuality with pedophilia and I think his remarks are unfortunate,” said Geske.
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