Two New Jersey judges have come under fire this week from public officials and advocacy groups after reports surfaced of how they handled two sexual assault cases involving minors.

State Senate Majority Leader Loretta Weinberg and the National Organization for Women of New Jersey put out statements this week calling for the removal of Monmouth County Superior Court Judge James Troiano and Middlesex County Superior Court Judge Marcia Silva after reports surfaced about comments they made when handling separate sexual assault cases.

Both judges previously denied waivers by prosecutors to try two 16-year-olds accused of sexual assault in adult court.

In the latest development, four Middlesex County senators released a joint statement on Friday that said they submitted a formal complaint to the Advisory Committee on Judicial Conduct requesting an immediate investigation into Judge Silva, as well as her removal from the bench.

Silva denied a motion to waive a 16-year-old to adult court on charges that he sexually assaulted a 12-year-old in 2017 by allegedly penetrating the 12-year-old forcefully over her objections, according to the prosecutor’s office.

Silva said that even if the girl’s claim was true, “the offense is not an especially heinous or cruel offense beyond the elements of the crimes that the waiver statute intends to target.”

“Judge Silva’s conduct is reprehensible and indefensible. We believe her opinion reflects such carelessly poor judgment that she should be removed, immediately, from her seat," said Middlesex County senators Bob Smith, Joseph Vitale, Linda Greenstein and Patrick Diegnan in a statement.

Sen. Weinberg also derided and called for the removal of Judge Troiano for his comments, which came under scrutiny after New Jersey 101.5 first reported on these cases.

In July 2018, Troiano denied the Monmouth County prosecutor’s office waiver to try a 16-year-old in adult court who has been accused of recording himself sexually assaulting an intoxicated 16-year-old girl then sending the video to his friends.

In denying the waiver, Troiano described the 16-year-old, as a teenager who “comes from a good family who put him in an excellent school.” The judge also expressed concern about “the devastating effect a waiver would have on G.M.C.’s life."

“This is unacceptable,” a statement from the National Organization for Women of New Jersey said. “In saying that the victim and her family pressing charges would ‘destroy the boy’s life,’ the judge showed little regard for the trauma that the victim will experience, arguably for the rest of her life.”

Sen. Weinberg described Troiano’s comments as “appalling.”

State appellate court judges reversed the decisions by both judges, and the cases will be waived up to adult court.

“I am glad to see that Judge James Troiano and Judge Marcia Silva were rebuked by the appeals courts, but this is not nearly enough,” Weinberg said. “Their conduct is unacceptable. There is no place for this parochial, dismissive and sexist behavior in our justice system.

“Judge Troiano and Judge Silva should never again be given the privilege of presiding over a New Jersey court," Weinberg said.

Democratic presidential nominee U.S. Sen. Kristen Gillibrand also weighed in on the story on Twitter, writing, “Stop making excuses for perpetrators and start standing up for those who’ve been violated.”

I don’t care what kind of family you’re from—sexual assault is never acceptable. Stop making excuses for perpetrators and start standing up for those who've been violated.



Our kids don’t need to be coddled. They need to be taught not to rape. https://t.co/5JbfraBfOf — Kirsten Gillibrand (@SenGillibrand) July 3, 2019

A spokesman for the administrative office of the courts said earlier this week that both judges had no comment on the cases.

Joe Atmonavage may be reached at jatmonavage@njadvancemedia.com. Follow on Twitter @monavage. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

Have a tip? Tell us. nj.com/tips

Get the latest updates right in your inbox. Subscribe to NJ.com’s newsletters.