San Diego judge put innocent 13-year-old girl in handcuffs as she sobbed to scare her straight

A federal judge in San Diego is under investigation after handcuffing a 13-year-old girl and putting her in the jury box in an attempt to scare her straight.

Roger Benitez, 72, in February put the daughter of defendant Mario Puente, 36, in the restraints after her father expressed concern she may be heading for the same fate.

According to court filings, Benitez then called a U.S. Marshal over and ordered the 13-year-old girl be handcuffed and placed in the jury box as she cried. 

Benitez asked the young girl how she liked ‘sitting up there’ and said she was an ‘awfully cute young lady’ who could ‘wind up in cuffs’ if she doesn’t avoid drugs. 

On Wednesday, California Governor Gavin Newsom responded to the judge’s actions, saying as the father of a 13-year-old himself, the story ‘sickens’ him. 

Judge Roger Benitez, 72, in February put the daughter of a defendant in restraints after her father expressed concern that his daughter may be heading toward the same future as him

On Wednesday, California Governor Gavin Newsom responded to the judge’s actions, saying as the father of a 13-year-old himself, the story ‘sickens’ him

This is the tweet Gavin Newsom sent out in regards to the story of Benitez handcuffing an innocent 13-year-old girl in a San Diego courtroom

According to the court filing, the incident happened during a February supervised release revocation hearing. 

The 13-year-old girl was in the courtroom to support her father as he told the judge he is hoping to ‘leave San Diego because to separate himself from negative peers and get a start fresh. Everywhere and anywhere I turn, I know somebody.’

Puente said to the judge he believed the only way he could get on the straight and narrow is by leaving the life he currently knows behind, asking he be granted the permission to leave the area.    

‘He indicated that ‘[t]he only way I can – I feel like I can do anything is leaving, leaving what I know’ … He also expressed concern that his daughter was hanging out with the wrong people, who might ‘lead her into the same path I went down,’ documents state. 

The father said he believes the only thing he could do to save his daughter is ‘try to get her out.’ 

That’s when the judge, who was appointed to the bench by George W. Bush, called over the Marshal and asked if he had handcuffs. 

‘Several minutes later, Judge Benitez asked a U.S. Marshal, ‘You got cuffs?’ The Marshal confirmed he did. Judge Benitez then ordered the 13-year-old girl to leave the spectator area, approach the front of the courtroom, and stand next to her father’s lawyer. He told the Marshal to ‘put cuffs on her,” court filings say. 

‘The Marshal did so, cuffing the girl’s hands behind her back. As he did so, she was crying, the filing continues. 

‘Judge Benitez then instructed the Marshal to ‘put her over there in the jury box for me for just a minute.’ The Marshal complied, placing the girl in the jury box in handcuffs. She continued to cry,’ the documents state. 

As she continued to cry, Benitez told her ‘don’t go away, look at me.’    

‘He asked her how she liked ‘sitting up there’ and ‘the way those cuffs felt on you.’ Still in tears, she responded that she ‘didn’t like it,” the transcripts obtained by the San Diego Union Tribune state.   

The judge who is now under investigation told the girl she is  ‘an awfully cute young lady’ but that her life could be derailed if she didn’t stay away from drugs. 

Benitez told her she will ‘wind up in cuffs’ and be ‘right back there where I put you a minute ago” if she goes down the same path as her father. 

Judge Benitez handcuffed and placed the defendant’s daughter in the jury box as she cried

A misconduct complaint was announced Tuesday by Chief Circuit Judge Mary H. Murguia, the Chair of the Judicial Council of the Ninth Circuit – the body that investigates judge 

Governor Newsom is one of many people who have harshly criticized the judge’s actions

The defendant’s case has since been transferred to a different district court judge, according to Chief Judge Dana Sabraw

According to Puente’s public defender, Mayra Lopez, the judge’s actions humiliated and psychologically damaged the girl, 

A misconduct complaint was officially announced Tuesday by Chief Circuit Judge Mary H. Murguia, the Chair of the Judicial Council of the Ninth Circuit – the body that investigates judges. 

‘After conducting an inquiry into the allegations, which included review of the relevant court transcripts, on February 22, 2023, I identified a misconduct complaint against Judge Benitez pursuant to the Judicial Disability Act, 28 U.S.C. § 351(b) and JC&D Rule 5,’ Murguia wrote.

The filing against Benitez alleges that children can be traumatized by incidents like this.

‘According to testimony from the Government Accountability Office (GAO), children can be ‘severely traumatized’ by the use of handcuffs even when ‘no physical injury is sustained,” the filing states. 

The defendant’s case has since been transferred to a different district court judge, according to Chief Judge Dana Sabraw. 

‘The judge to whom a case is assigned or the Chief Judge of the district, may transfer such case at any time to a consenting judge in the interest of efficient administration of the judicial business of the district,’ records cite. 

Additionally, Judge Robert Huie ordered last week that Puente be released from custody for time served. 

In a tweet Wednesday, Democrat Governor Gavin Newsom expressed disgust with Benitez’s approach to scaring the young girl straight

‘Judge Benitez on full display. THIS is the man who is deciding the fate of CA’s assault weapons ban. A man that will handcuff innocent kids in a courtroom for the sake of humiliation. I’m the dad of a 13 year old daughter — this sickens me,’ he wrote

In 2021, Benitez likened an AR-15 to a ‘Swiss Army Knife’ as he gave his reasoning for why the weapon and others like it should not be banned in the Golden State

In a tweet Wednesday, Democrat Governor Gavin Newsom expressed disgust with Benitez’s approach to scaring the young girl straight. 

‘Judge Benitez on full display. THIS is the man who is deciding the fate of CA’s assault weapons ban. A man that will handcuff innocent kids in a courtroom for the sake of humiliation. I’m the dad of a 13 year old daughter — this sickens me,’ he wrote. 

Newsom has previously gone toe to toe with Benitez, the judge who infamously shot down California’s longtime assault weapons ban.

In 2021, Benitez likened an AR-15 to a ‘Swiss Army Knife’ as he gave his reasoning for why the weapon and others like it should not be banned in the Golden State. 

‘Like the Swiss Army Knife, the popular AR-15 rifle is a perfect combination of home defense weapon and homeland defense equipment,’ Benitez wrote in his opinion.