"Honestly! It's not mine! I don't even know what it's for! I don't know 'ow it got underneath me bench. I just found it. Honestly!"
Posted on 06/29/2006 10:04:39 PM PDT by Paddlefish
A Creek County jury late Thursday convicted a former judge who was accused of exposing himself by using a sexual device while he presided over court cases.
The panel deliberated more than five hours before returning a guilty verdict against Donald Thompson on all four counts of indecent exposure. The jury had requested a dinner break around 6:30 p.m. and sent a note to the judge at 8:49 p.m. that a decision had been reached. Jurors recommended one year in prison and a $10,000 fine on each count against the judge, 59, who served more than 20 years on the bench in eastern Oklahoma before his retirement in 2004.
Thompson showed little emotion but his wife, Paula, wept as the verdicts were read. He was ordered into custody but was allowed to consult with his attorneys and family before being led away.
Presiding Judge C. Allen McCall set bond at $75,000, which Thompson's attorneys said would be posted Friday morning. McCall scheduled Thompson's formal sentencing for Aug. 14.
The conviction will require Thompson to register as a sex offender, and could jeopardize his $7,489.91-a-month pension from the state.
The longtime judge said the "penis pump" at the center of allegations against him was simply a gag gift that he never used.
In closing arguments Thursday, defense attorney Clark Brewster called the device "a joke."
"Why in the world would anybody have this behind the bench?" he said, holding the pump.
"It's a stupid thing," he said, setting it down.
Brewster left the courthouse and didn't speak with reporters.
Thompson was accused of using the device during four jury trials in 2002 and 2003.
(Excerpt) Read more at breitbart.com ...
Strip the pervert of the obscenely bloated pension too.
Swell.*
I thought it would end with a hung jury.....
Dang, the MSM is hard up for good news, eh?
;-)
Actually, I came across this as a HIGHLIGHTED article on Drudge.
That's a ridiculous pension. I see they don't feel a need to be good stewards of taxpayer money.
So was it just the device or did the guy flash his penis?
A conviction was not too surprising since his whole "pump" defense...well, sucked.
Now, it's off to a penal institution for some hard time.
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"Honestly! It's not mine! I don't even know what it's for! I don't know 'ow it got underneath me bench. I just found it. Honestly!"
Using the pump, polishing the bishop, urinating, shaving "the boys", all while on the bench. Some of this even occurred during the trial of a man convicted of murdering a toddler.
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