By Nicole Fuller | nicole.fuller@baltsun.com

Baltimore County judge was reassigned Wednesday after he officiated a marriage between a man being prosecuted for domestic violence and the alleged victim — an action that led to the man’s acquittal.

Baltimore County District Judge G. Darrell Russell Jr. took the unusual step last week of allowing the defendant to leave court to obtain a marriage license and married the couple later in his chambers. About 20 minutes later, his new wife invoked marital privilege, so she would not be required to testify against her husband.

The case came to an end with the judge finding the defendant not guilty and saying, “I found you not guilty, so I can’t sentence you as a defendant in any crimes, but earlier today, I sentenced you to life married to her.”

Baltimoresun.com