A three-judge panel has agreed with New Jersey's Supreme Court that a judge who suggested a woman should “close her legs” to prevent a sexual assault should be removed from the bench.

The panel's recommendation released Tuesday echoes what the state supreme court decided last summer in the case of state Superior Court Judge John Russo Jr., who has been on unpaid suspension during his appeal. He will have a chance to file a response to the panel's recommendation and have a hearing this spring.

Russo in court filings and at a hearing in December expressed remorse for his comments to the woman and for joking about the exchange with court personnel afterward.