Advocacy groups decry sentence modification for Towson man who pleaded guilty to sexual assault

Four advocacy groups condemned a Baltimore County judge’s decision late last month to modify the sentence of a Towson man who pleaded guilty to assault and a sex offense, shortening his time in prison to 49 days.

The Women’s Law Center, the Maryland Coalition to End Sexual Assault, the Baltimore County chapter of the National Organization for Women, and Together We Will Harford County said the decision minimizes sexual crimes and dissuades survivors from coming forward to seek justice in the courts. Three of the four groups cited The Banner’s reporting in their statements.

Judge Mickey Norman, who is retired and hears a few cases a month, said that he wanted the defendant, Samuel Logue, 28, to “experience similar terror” to what he inflicted upon the victim in the assault case. Norman added that after a few weeks in prison, “it sounds like he has.”

The assault began on Oct. 27, 2024, in a home owned by Logue’s father at Towson Estates after Logue and the woman met on a Hinge date. Logue consumed alcohol and pills, and later that night, the woman told police, he turned into a “lunatic.” During an approximately three-hour attack, prosecutors said, Logue took off the woman’s pants and underwear, punched her in the face, choked her until she blacked out, sat on her for about 10 minutes, and sexually assaulted her. At one point, he forced the barrel of a BB rifle into her mouth and said, “I could shoot you in five seconds,” prosecutors said.

Logue was arrested on 13 charges, including first-degree rape. He pleaded guilty on June 11 to first-degree assault and fourth-degree sex offense. The sentencing guidelines called for between three and eight years.

Norman sentenced Logue to five years and gave him credit for his 21 months of jail time. He indicated to the attorneys that he probably would approve a modification.

Prosecutors called Logue’s September modification “an affront to deterrence.” At his sentencing, prosecutors played a video showing the victim running from a barrel-chested Logue, who tackled her when he caught up with her. The victim, who was about half his size, managed to reach a neighbor’s home and call police.

Judges cannot comment on legal matters or decisions, according to the Maryland Judiciary’s public information officers.

“Judges are bound by ethical rules and legal principles preventing them from commenting on specific matters to preserve the impartiality and fairness of the judicial system,” they wrote.

The Women’s Law Center of Maryland focuses on providing direct legal representation and legislative advocacy for women navigating the legal system. Katie Curran O’Malley, the former first lady of Maryland and a longtime judge and prosecutor in Baltimore City, is the group’s executive director. The organization was “deeply disappointed” in the case’s outcome, according to its statement.

The Maryland Coalition to End Sexual Assault condemned Norman’s modification as “a gross miscarriage of justice.”

Baltimore County’s chapter of the National Organization for Women called on Dennis Robinson Jr., the county’s administrative judge, to explain the guidelines for such a modification, the criteria the county uses for assigning cases to retired judges rather than active ones, and how the court ensures that retired judges adhere to court standards.

Delane Lewis, president of Together We Will Harford County, which is part of Indivisible, a nationwide group focused on social justice and democracy, is circulating a petition for Norman’s removal. It has 164 signatures.

“I am asking anyone who is horrified and disgusted by this blatant disregard for the law, the victim and his judicial oath, to ask that Judge Mickey Norman lose his privilege to sit as a judge,” she wrote.

Logue is in the Harford County jail awaiting a Nov. 17 hearing on a probation violation. His attorney, Brian Thompson, did not return a call Monday seeking comment.

Banner reporter Dylan Segelbaum contributed to this story.