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Gehrke: There’s no escaping the politics hanging over the allegations that Gill neglected sexual assault cases

A political atom bomb — the mother of all hit pieces — got dropped on the Salt Lake County District Attorney’s race this week.

Or, alternatively, a former federal judge and lifelong victims advocate took a major step to seek justice for four sexual assault victims, justice that was denied by that DA’s office.

And depending on how you see the issue and this race in particular it could be either. Or varying degrees of both.

Here are the facts: Former U.S. District Judge Paul Cassell filed a petition this week with the Utah Supreme Court, criticizing the handling of four sexual assault cases brought to District Attorney Sim Gill’s office over the past two years and asking the justices to appoint a special prosecutor to bring the cases to court.