Thomas Estes in 2014.

An online petition that as of Tuesday night had gained more than 6,000 supporters is calling for the removal of the Palmer District Court judge who allowed former East Longmeadow High School athlete David Becker off with probation after he was charged with sexually assaulting two classmates.

On Aug. 15, Judge Thomas Estes ordered Becker's case continued without a finding for two years. Becker has to remain drug and alcohol-free, stay away from the two 18-year-old victims and be evaluated for sex offender treatment.

But Becker, 18, who admitted to sufficient facts in the case, avoiding a guilty verdict if he abides by his probation, will not have to register as a sex offender. And he won't have a conviction on his record.

"This is yet another instance of a white athlete receiving a slap on the wrist for a violent sexual crime," the petioner, Kelsey Bourgeois, stated on thepetitionsite.com. "This is just another in a trend of judges awarding young white athletes inappropriately light sentences -- sentences much lighter than their non-white counterparts -- so that they don't have to suffer for their crimes. Yet the victims of these men had no choice in the matter and they will likely suffer their entire lives from this trauma."

According to court records, the two 18-year-olds were sexually assaulted by Becker at an April 2 house party at which he allegedly penetrated the two victims with his finger while they were unconscious.

Becker's attorney said of the light sentence, "He can now look forward to a productive life without being burdened with the stigma of having to register as a sex offender. The goal of this sentence was not to impede this individual from graduating high school and to go onto the next step of his life, which is a college experience."

But that's precisely what the petitioner says is wrong with the ruling.

"Judge Estes is essentially letting a known rapist free on a college campus," the petition states.

The petition calling for Estes' removal from the bench also references the California case of Brock Turner, a Stanford University student athlete who on Jan. 18, 2015, sexually penetrated an intoxicated and unconscious 22-year-old woman with his fingers. Turner received six months jail time from his judge, avoiding the six years in prison recommended by the prosecution.

"A prison sentence would have a severe impact on him," Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Aaron Persky said.

More than 1,297,944 people have signed a Change.org petition to recall Persky.