Judge cleared of any misconduct in Dietrich locker room assault case
The Idaho Judicial Council has cleared 5th District Judge Randy Stoker of any misconduct in his handling of the case of a Dietrich High School football player in a 2015 locker room assault on a black, mentally disabled teammate.
John R.K. Howard, 19, was sentenced to probation and community service on a charge of felony injury to a child – reduced from the original charge of felony sexual penetration with a foreign object – and also was granted a withheld judgment, which means that if he successfully completes probation, the conviction could be wiped off his record. The case attracted national attention for its racial and sexual implications; Howard was accused of kicking a plastic hanger into the disabled teammate’s rectum, causing serious injuries. The victim and his family charged that the assault, after another player had inserted the hanger, followed weeks of bullying and racial and sexual harassment from Howard and other players. Two other players were charged in juvenile court in connection with the assault.
At Howard’s sentencing, Stoker stated, “Whatever happened in that locker room was not sexual.” He also said it was “not a case about racial bias.” The prosecutors in the case also said the assault wasn’t sexually or racially motivated. Howard’s attorneys argued that he kicked at the victim’s buttocks, but didn’t know the hanger was there.
The Idaho Judicial Council, which handles complaints of judicial misconduct, received three verified complaints from six individuals about Stoker’s handling of the case, charging an erroneous decision and sentence, legal incompetence, appearance of impropriety and failure to disqualify. The council investigated all the allegations, and found no evidence for any of them.
On the appearance of impropriety and failure to disqualify, the complaints charged that Stoker was lenient on Howard because both were members of the LDS Church. However, the council found, “Judge Stoker is not now nor ever was a member of the LDS Church.” Plus, it found, “Judge Stoker was assigned to this case after the defense counsel and the special prosecutor disqualified two other active district judges. … The Administrative District Judge then appointed Judge Stoker from a town over 30 miles away. There was never a motion to disqualify for cause by either the defendant or the prosecution.”
The council found no evidence of legal incompetence, finding that both sides were represented by competent counsel, and Stoker followed all required legal procedures.
The council also noted, “Judge Stoker asked if the state was going to ‘in any way’ argue that this was racially motivated. The prosecutor responded, ‘It’s not our belief that this was.’ During the sentencing hearing, Judge Stoker reiterated twice that if this case had been racially motivated, the defendant would go to prison. Judge Stoker held an extensive sentencing hearing and abided by all rules and statutes leading to the sentence that was within legal limits.”
The council also found no evidence of an erroneous decision or sentence; the prosecution and defense presented him with a signed stipulation for a plea agreement to the reduced charge. Questioned by the judge at the plea hearing, the prosecution and defense both told Stoker in court that the victim and his family “have been made aware of this plea agreement,” and “they’re fine with it.”
“Judge Stoker meticulously reviewed criteria for sentencing, and sentenced the defendant within the statutory guidelines,” the council found. “There was no appeal filed by any party.”
The victim’s family has filed a $10 million civil lawsuit against the Dietrich School District; it’s now pending in federal district court. According to the family's civil suit, the victim had been subjected to repeated physical bullying and racial taunts by Howard and other students in the months leading up to the October 2015 assault.
At Howard’s sentencing, Deputy Attorney General Casey Hemmer said, “We found a lot of things going around that school and the locker room involving a lot of the parties here that have racial undertones, but it’s not our belief this was a racially motivated crime. This was more of a vulnerable victim motivated crime.”
KTVB-TV reported in December that the victim suffered a breakdown after the assault, and the family has since moved out of Dietrich, a town of 332 people located in Lincoln County in southern Idaho, about 35 miles northeast of Twin Falls.
