A judge told the mother of a sexual assault victim to “keep your mouth shut, sit down,’” when she stood to protest delays that have caused her son’s case to linger for more than four years while the accused offender roams free.

“I know I was wrong. I understand that,” said the victim’s mother, who is not being identified by NJ Advance Media in order to shield the identity of her son. She said she was both hurt and shocked by the callous response to her and her son, who stood with her in court.

“You just found out that you were looking at the victim, and you still kept that tone of voice,” she said of Middlesex County Superior Judge Joseph Rea, who is presiding over the case against John Angeline. The 44-year-old was indicted in September 2015 on charges he sexually assaulted a boy over a nearly three-year period, beginning when the victim was 15. Angeline was formerly a high school English teacher, but the assaults did not take place at the school, authorities said.

Rea has sat on the bench since 2003. Before that, he was an assistant prosecutor in Middlesex County.

During the hearing on June 28, Rea asked the victim’s mother to stand up after she was sneering and scoffing at the back and forth between the judge and attorneys as they sought a fall court date for the trial.

“What’s the problem back there?” Rea asked. “Excuse me, if you have enough nerve to make some noise, stand up and be heard. What’s the problem?”

“We’ve been dealing with this for four and a half years, your honor," she said. "Four and a half years. And it’s been constant delays and pushbacks...”

When Rea asked her who she was, her son stood, too, telling him, “We’re the victims, your honor." Rea then asked if the young man was the victim, identifying him by his initials.

“The case is going to go to trial, all right? You’re not the only case on the list," he said. "There’s a bunch of cases on the list. Both these lawyers have a pretty busy calendar. What we’re trying to do now, is get a firm date. Is that a problem?”

The victim’s mother answered, “All the back and forth is a problem. It is. October 9, October this. We were supposed to be here in June, and now we’re going to October. Initially, it was going in 2020 and that’s where we feel like we’re going to end up. All I’m asking for is fairness for this case. Please. Please."

Rea told her to take it up with the prosecutor’s office, not in court. "Because you’re being inappropriate, he said. “Keep your mouth shut, sit down.”

Angeline was not present in court that day because he was somewhere in the Midwest.

Rea went on to say he was frustrated because he had was “getting all kinds of phone calls and letters that are completely unwarranted. Which quite frankly, I think the State Police are going to get involved in.”

Carver said in court he did not know what the judge was referring to, and the victim’s mother said she did not know either. A call to Rea’s chamber seeking comment was not returned.

The hostile hearing comes amid a wave of scrutiny of judicial comments to sexual assault victims.

Judge John Russo Jr. in Burlington County is facing disciplinary action on four counts of misconduct, the most jarring for asking a rape victim if she could have closed her legs to avoid being assaulted. Monmouth County Superior Court Judge James Troiano has come under fire for describing a teen accused of sexual assault as “from a good family who put him in an excellent school.”

And another Middlesex County Superior Court judge, Marcia Silva, received criticism for denying a motion to waive a 16-year-old to adult court on charges that he sexually assaulted a 12-year-old in 2017. She found the charge to be "not an especially heinous or cruel offense beyond the elements of the crimes that the waiver statute intends to target.”

For the victim’s mother in this case, the judge’s attitude has only added to her frustrations, as delays have caused the case to languish.

“It’s a nightmare. It’s just a recurring nightmare that never ends,” she said in a phone call. “It was horrible when it first came out. Nothing will top my son coming to me and telling me. It’s just gotten on worse as it’s gone on for four and a half years.”

She said she and her son have relocated to another state, and have not been in the court during prior proceedings. But expecting a plea deal, they flew into Newark on June 27, ready to end the case that has hung over them like a cloud for nearly half a decade.

But when she turned on her phone, the woman had a few voicemails telling her the plea deal had to be thrown out, and the case would move to trial. The prosecutor’s office and Angeline’s defense attorney, Joseph Mazraani, had come to an agreement that would include no incarceration time, and avoid listing Angeline as a sex offender under Megan’s Law the week prior. In a recording of a June 21 court hearing, Assistant Prosecutor Thomas Carver said deal just needed approval from the prosecutor’s office.

Because the victim and his mother were not present, though, he asked that the plea be held a week. Ultimately, the prosecutor’s office took issue with the leniency of the deal, forcing it off the table.

Various other trial dates and scheduling conflicts were listed during the June 28 hearing, when Mazraani, Carver and Rea tried for several minutes to find the soonest date that would work for all parties. Rea set a trial date for October 22.

A spokesperson for the prosecutor’s office declined to comment on the plea deal and delays. Mazraani did not return a call or email seeking comment.

“It’s horrible,” the victim’s mother said. “You go to bed thinking about it. And you get up thinking about it. You’re having a good time. And you’re having a good time, and you feel guilty, because you shouldn’t be having fun and enjoying life.”

She said she does not have faith that the trial will be fair, given both the delays and Rea’s attitude toward her and her son.

“This is why victims don’t come forward,” she said.

Amanda Hoover can be reached at ahoover@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @amandahoovernj. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

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