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n Arizona judge sparked outrage this week when she lectured a sexual abuse victim about avoiding bars and changing her behavior, The Arizona Republic reports.

Coconino County Superior Court Judge Jacqueline Hatch made the comments after she sentenced Robb Gary Evans, a former Arizona Department of Public Safety officer, to two years of probation for groping the woman in a bar, the Arizona Daily Sun reports.

Evans was convicted of sexual abuse, a class 5 felony, in July and received credit for four days he spent in jail.

Prosecutors contended that he drank eight beers and then drove himself to a concert where he flashed his badge in an attempt to get in for free, according to the Arizona Daily Sun. While inside, he walked up behind the victim, who was a friend of a friend, put his hand up her skirt and then ran his fingers across her genitals, the paper reports.

Bouncers later threw Evans out. Following his conviction, he was also fired from his job.

After announcing Evans' sentence, Hatch said he and the victim should take lessons away from the case.

"If you wouldn't have been there that night, none of this would have happened to you," Hatch told the victim. "I hope you look at what you've been through and try to take something positive out of it. You learned a lesson about friendship and you learned a lesson about vulnerability."

Hatch said that the victim was not to blame in the case, but that all women must be vigilant against becoming victims.

"When you blame others, you give up your power to change," Hatch said that her mother used to say.

Her comments quickly sparked outrage with several websites and blogs condemning the judge's words as an unnecessary lecture and demanding an apology.

One columnist for The Arizona Republic said Hatch's words to the victim had only one translation, "You asked for it."

The Arizona Daily Sun also weighed in. "That admonishment was the wrong message at the wrong time and in the wrong place," the paper reports. "For Hatch to use the occasion to give the victim a lecture on risk avoidance, however well-intentioned, marginalizes the courage it took for the victim of a stigmatized crime like sex abuse to come forward."

Hatch has since issued an apology saying her comments were poorly communicated and that she failed to uphold her responsibility to ensure that defendants and victims are treated fairly and with respect in the courtroom.

"It was never my intention to make a situation worse for any victim," she said in a statement. "I have learned an important lesson and will apply what I have learned to future cases, to ensure that the rights and views of all victims are heard and respected."

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All I have to say is WOW, this judge is an idiot. How can you blame the victim here? Hope this idiot steps down and just walks away from the bench.

Edit to add: The article glosses over this but the guy was convicted by a jury of sexual abuse (class 5 felony in Arizona) which is punishable by up to 2.5 years in prison and placement on the sex offender list. The judge chose not to place him on the sex offender and sentenced him to probation since he served 4 DAYS!!! in prison. So her idiocy is compounded.

I'd punch that witch judge in her face repeatedly. "If the victim hadn't been there....." That b knows nothing about abuse. Always the victims fault, right?

It is sometimes frightening to learn of the kinds of people that are allowed to make judgements from the bench. I'd like to say this is unbelievable, but sadly, it's not.

My heart sinks and I cringe whenever I hear the "but she was asking for it!" argument.

How is this human being even a judge? I'm becoming an even bigger believer in an empathy/ethics exam for officials like politicians, judges, teachers, and police officers.

There have been hundreds of rulings like this that I have stumbled across on the internet over the years that make me wonder just what the hell kind of drugs some judges have hooked up to them bu an IV.

Just stupid and ridiculous.