Judge Apologizes for Calling Rape Victim ‘Coyote Ugly’
- Share via
PHILADELPHIA — A judge who admits making “insulting and sexist” comments about a woman victim of a sexual attack has apologized for the remarks but says they were taken out of context by a newspaper.
Judge Bernard J. Avellino apologized Tuesday to the victim and to Women Organized Against Rape, which had asked that he be barred from hearing sexual-assault cases.
The Philadelphia Inquirer on Jan. 27 quoted Avellino as telling a defendant at a 1984 hearing: “This was an unattractive girl, and you are a good-looking fellow. You did something to her which was stupid.”
In an interview, Avellino said the victim “was the ugliest girl I have ever seen in my entire life . . . in the top 10.” Avellino was also quoted as calling the victim “coyote ugly.”
More From the Los Angeles Times
Podcasts
Why is California’s wildfire strategy wrong for SoCal? After massive blazes, the state changed its approach, but it only works for the north. Listen to find out what officials are doing wrong — and the surprising strategy they’re turning to next.
In 1990, UCLA student Ronald Baker was murdered in a railway tunnel. While his occult interests fueled “Satanic Panic” rumors, police found his killers knew him well — one had even carried his casket.
A gunman targeted an elementary school in Rancho Tehama after a deadly rampage. The media barely covered it. Five years later, an L.A. Times reporter wants to know why.
