Judge Shaffer recuses from Miller rape cases
A Butler County judge granted a defendant's request that his two rape cases be heard by another judge.
Austin C. Miller, 24, of Butler made the request after Judge William Shaffer rejected a plea deal to which Miller and prosecutors had agreed.
In the deal, Miller would have pleaded to corruption of minors and statutory sexual assault, dropping 16 other charges related to the 2015 incident. The deal was brought before Shaffer March 15 for sentencing.
But after a victim's statement was read to Shaffer, the judge rejected the deal and said, “Let's take this to trial.” That decision led Miller's lawyer, public defender Joseph Smith, to request Shaffer voluntarily remove himself from the case.
This is an excerpt — pick up Friday's Butler Eagle to find out to which judge the case was assigned and what the ADA thinks of the move.
