Utah judge Thomas Low allegedly held back tears as he called convicted sexual predator Keith Vallejo “an extraordinarily good man” before sentencing him to prison.

Utah Judge Thomas Low.



Low faced backlash in February for allowing Vallejo, 43, to remain free until his sentencing after he was convicted of first-degree felony of object rape and 10 second-degree felonies of forcible sexual abuse. Low reversed the decision on March 30 and Vallejo has been in jail since then.



The former Mormon bishop has maintained his innocence throughout the trial and refused to admit guilt on Friday.



“The justice system is funny,” Vallejo told the courtroom Friday, according to The Salt Lake Tribune. “The whole thing is geared to bullying you into confessing. The whole thing is geared to push you into pleading.”

By Hayley Miller. 04/14/2017 04:13 pm ET.

Kristen Houser, the chief public affairs officer for the National Sexual Violence Research Center, said the judge’s choice of words could “definitely leave the wrong impact” on a rape victim.“A blanket statement that ‘you’re a wonderful person’ is not appropriate for somebody who’s being sentenced for sexually assaulting two girls,” Houser said. “These are things that people consider when they’re wondering whether or not it’s worth it to report [their assault] to the police.”Low eventually sentenced Vallejo to concurrent terms of one to 15 years in prison for second-degree felonies and five years to life for the rape conviction.