PITTSBURGH — A longtime Allegheny County judge has resigned in the wake of her removal from two sex offender cases due to alleged bias.

Common Pleas Judge Donna Jo McDaniel submitted her resignation Thursday. The 72-year-old served on the bench for 33 years and has been praised for her compassion toward victims of sex crimes.

But twice in the last month the state Superior Court removed her from sex offenders’ sentencing proceedings for allegedly showing bias against the defendants and their attorneys.

McDaniel served as a deputy public defender and city magistrate before being elected to the Common Pleas bench in 1985.