Action Taken Against Judge in Rape Case

The state Commission on Judicial Performance has taken “appropriate” corrective action against a Pasadena judge who dismissed a rape case because the victim was a prostitute, the panel disclosed Tuesday.

The announcement concludes the commission’s inquiry into Superior Court Judge Gilbert C. Alston’s dismissal last April of rape and sodomy charges against Daniel Zabuski, a case that the judge called a “contractual dispute between a whore and her trick.”

In a letter to feminist attorney Gloria Allred, who filed the complaint against Alston in May, the commission said its investigation “has resulted in appropriate action” but did not reveal the nature of any discipline imposed.

“We appreciate your going to the trouble of advising us about this matter, which enabled the commission to proceed with its action,” the panel said.

Alston said Tuesday that he has so far had no communication with the commission. “I’m told she (Allred) has had some communication with them, and I have no knowledge of what that would be,” he said. “I have no knowledge of this thing that she’s talking about today at all.”

Commission Director Jack E. Frankel said he could not comment on the nature of the action because state law requires that all disciplinary investigations be kept confidential unless they result in a recommendation for censure or removal. No such recommendation has been made in Alston’s case, he said.

Asked whether Alston has been notified of the action taken, Frankel said, “I’m afraid I can’t comment on that, either.”

The commission said its notification was authorized under a section of the California Rules of Court that provide that those making a complaint against a judge must be notified that the panel has either (1) found no basis for action against the judge; (2) has taken “an appropriate corrective action, the nature of which shall not be disclosed”; or (3) has filed a recommendation with the Supreme Court for censure or removal of the judge.

Allred said Frankel had told her that the panel’s notification was based on the second alternative.

According to a state judicial guidebook, private corrective actions such as letters of reprimand or counseling are reserved for infractions that are considered “detrimental but relatively minor misdeeds.”

Allred said she is “very pleased” with the commission’s response.

“Rape victims should be encouraged by the action of the commission, which appears supportive of the rape victim’s right to be treated with dignity and respect in the courtroom,” she said at a press conference announcing the action.

Civil Suit Filed

Allred is representing the alleged rape victim, Rhonda DaCosta, in a civil lawsuit filed against Zabuski after the criminal charges were dismissed. Zabuski recently lost a bid to have the suit dismissed.

DaCosta allegedly consented to an act of oral copulation with Zabuski for $30, but claimed he became violent, slapped her, then raped and sodomized her without her consent.

In an interview after dismissal of the charges, Alston said: “The law was set up to protect good people--you, my wife, my daughters, my granddaughters. It doesn’t protect a street-walking prostitute from a contract gone awry. This case shouldn’t have been filed. A whore is a whore is a whore.”