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CREEK COUNTY, OK---In December, following a preliminary hearing, a judge found that enough probable cause existed for the trial of former district court judge Donald Thompson to proceed.
Thompson, 59, is charged with four felony counts of indecent exposure for allegedly using a "penis pump" under his judicial robes while adjudicating two murder trials and a civil trial in 2003.
Lisa Foster, a former court reporter for Thompson, was the only witness for that hearing and now Thompson and his attorney are seeking to blocking her testimony, claiming that she was under the influence of drugs when she testified. They also claim that her testimony fails to meet the level of proof required to bring felony charges of indecent exposure.
Thompson's attorney also argues that the four factors required to bring felony indecent exposure charges have not been shown, that the act was willful and offensive; should have been lewd; that the penis was exposed and that the act occurred in a public place.
He says no evidence was presented at the preliminary hearing that Thompson's acts offended anyone or were willful.
Foster testified that she had marked her notes every time she witnessed Thompson masturbating with the "penis pump" while he was presiding at trials between 2001 and 2003.
At his arraignment in late January, Thompson's attorney's argued that Foster's testimony should be thrown out because she had allegedly taken Xanax before the preliminary hearing. Foster had admitted on cross examination that she had taken one Xanax pill before testifying.
Thompson has also been charged with one count of misuse of a state computer as it is alleged that he kept explicit photos of himself on his office computer. A trial date will be set at Thompson's arraignment. He could face up to 41 years in prison.
Thompson pleaded not guilty at his arraignment.
Comanche County district judge C. Allen McCall delayed hearing arguments on Thompson's motion until the state could respond. If McCall rules in favor of Thompson and throws out Foster's testimony, the state's case could be in jeopardy.
The trial, expected to last about a week and a half, is planned for June.
During the preliminary hearing. Foster testified that she saw Thompson shave his pubic area during closing arguments in a murder case. She said she didn't report him because she was afraid of losing her job.
She took several Polaroid pictures of the device used by Thompson in March 2001 to show her husband because she wanted people to know "that I was not crazy".
The court reporter said she was afraid to go to police. Only after she was subpoenaed by the state judicial review board did she relate what she had seen and heard in the courtroom and after a penis pump was found in the courtroom by police in September 2003 during an investigation of Thompson.
She was fired in 2004.
Thompson was arrested last year. A judge for over 22 years prior to his resignation,
Thompson is collecting his $88,000 annual pension but if convicted, the pension would be revoked.
DNA samples have reportedly been taken and processed by the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation. However, according to test results, there were no signs of Thompson's DNA on any of the materials seized from around the judge's bench including the carpet.
Thompson has denied the accusations and says that the pump seized was a gag gift from a friend. The sex toy and another one found under the bench will be admitted as evidence at trial and jurors will be allowed to see the sex toy.
Jurors told police that they heard whooshing noises coming from the bench during the trial proceedings. Another court reporter in Thompson's court is also a key witness in the case. 2-17-06
© 2005 North
Country Gazette
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