An Arkansas judge resigned Monday after officials discovered thousands of pictures of naked male defendants on his computer, officials said.
A state commission discovered the photos after fielding complaints about Cross County District Judge Joseph Boeckmann's behavior. In a May 5 letter sent to Boeckmann's lawyer, the commission stated that they were "in the process of recovering as many as 4,500 photos," reports NBC News.
"They all depict young men, many naked who are in various poses inside the judge's home and outside in his yard," the letter states, adding that many of the men had received checks from the judge and had appeared before him as defendants.
Boeckmann would provide with defendants his number and "have them serve what he described as 'community service' at his home." Some of them would get reduced sentences or leniency. He was also often retaliatory when they would not comply. From WREG:
One inmate said Judge Boeckmann sent him a note asking to ‘spend some time with him.’
He took the note as sexual in nature and gave it back to the guard, refusing to meet him.
In the courtroom the next day he said Boeckmann was angry.
“’I’m going to charge you 500 and an extra night in jail, and you go back there and tell your buddies how I feel about it,” he recalled the judge as saying.
The allegations came to light in November after the Arkansas Judicial Discipline and Disability Commission released a report containing details of his behavior. Over the past six months, a number of former defendants have come forward with their own stories about how Boeckmann sexually assaulted and coerced them. In February, the judge denied any misconduct and stated that photos “may have been taken to corroborate a defendant’s participation in community service.”
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