Senator Barbara Boxer on Monday decried a California judge’s decision to sentence a college athlete to just six months in jail for sexual assault, and signatures on an online petition calling for the jurist’s ouster later passed 400,000. The sentence last week by Santa Clara County Judge Aaron Persky against former Stanford University swimmer Brock Turner gained international attention after a letter from the athlete’s father to the judge that was posted online described the assault as “20 minutes of action.” “Six months for someone who viciously attacked a woman, especially after she was so brave to come forward, is outrageous,” Boxer said in a statement released late Monday. Asked for a comment on the controversy over his ruling, Santa Clara Superior Court spokesman Joseph Macaluso said Judge Persky is prohibited from commenting on the case because there may be an appeal. Last week, the victim in the case read a 12-page letter to the court detailing her feelings in the wake of the assault.