A New Jersey judge who told an alleged rape victim to "close his legs" had "remorse," according to a lawyer

A New Jersey judge who told a woman who had been raped that she could "close her legs" to prevent such an assault is "full of remorse," said a judge's lawyer to a disciplinary committee of the state Tuesday.

The Superior Court Judge, John Russo Jr., of the Ocean County Family Court Division, said nothing during his hearing before the Supreme Court of the State, but his lawyer, Amelia Carolla, said the judge had "learned his lesson" and "would not do it" again, "reported the Associated Press.

Russo was presiding over a case in 2016 in which a woman was applying for a no-contact order against a man who allegedly raped her while he had made these comments.

"Do you know how to prevent someone from having sex with you," Russo asked the woman, according to the state-initiated lawsuit for judicial conduct.

She provided answers such as "tell them to stop" and Russo went on to ask, "What else?"

"Blocks the parts of your body," Russo said. "Close your legs? Call the police? Have you done any of these things?"

In April, a court advisory panel ruled that Russo's comments were "unjustified, discourteous and inappropriate" and "could clearly inflict further victimization on the complainant".

The panel recommended that Russo be suspended for three months. The Supreme Court justices, Russo who appeared Tuesday, are trying to figure out how to discipline the judge.

Russo rejected the woman's request for a restraining order. In an informal conversation outside the courtroom, recorded on a tape record, Russo was heard saying to a clerk, "As an exotic dancer, you might think you know how to defend yourself out of unwanted sex. … "

The clerk asked Russo twice to spare him "relive everything I heard" about the case, as he continued to talk about it, according to court documents.

Russo also faces two other incidents.

In 2017, he reportedly used his authority to manipulate the court calendar in his favor during a tutelary dispute involving his adult son, who was disabled, according to court documents.

Russo is also accused of failing to recuse himself from a child support case involving a couple he knew in high school. According to the court documents, he reduced the husband's payment from $ 10,000 to $ 300.

The complaint also alleges that the judge had a conversation about paternity with a mother in a case that he chaired without the father and the complainant, the case being considered a fault.

Carolla did not respond to NBC News's requests for comment.

NJ.com also reports that Russo faces a recent lawsuit against him for sexual harassment and discrimination.