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CREEK COUNTY, OK-Former Oklahoma district court judge Donald Thompson, convicted earlier this year of exposing himself and using a device known as a penis pump to masturbate while presiding over trials, has been denied parole.
The Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board voted unanimously against granting early release to Thompson.NN
Thompson, 59, had been sentenced to four consecutive one-year jail terms in August for indecent exposure after he was found guilty in June of four felony counts of indecent exposure following a three week jury trial. Court reporters, police officers and former jurors testified against Thompson who had steadfastly denied the allegations. Several attorneys and investigators had testified in his behalf, saying that they had seen nothing unusual in his Salpula courtroom. The trial had been moved to Bristow, 15 miles away and out of the Creek County courtroom where Thompson had presided.
Thompson continues to maintain his innocence and continues to maintain that the penis pump was a gag gift from a friend. Despite witness accounts, Thompson claims that he never used it and that the sentence was too harsh.
Prosecutors said that Thompson hadn't shown any remorse for his actions. Special prosecutor Richard Smothermon told the board that the ex-judge had turned down a plea deal which would have spared him prison time in exchange for a guilty plea to a single misdemeanor.
The conviction is under appeal. Trial Judge C. Allen McCall had denied Thompson's motion that he remain free pending appeal. McCall also imposed a $40,000 fine.
Former court reporter Lisa Foster testified that she saw Thompson's penis "12 to 15 times" during trials. Thompson had fired Foster in 2004 after she testified before a state judicial commission about his alleged use of the penis pump in the courtroom.
Theresa "Terri" Clee, a court reporter who had recorded proceedings of one of Thompson's trials in September 2003, testified that she had seen Thompson use hand lotion and fondle himself during the trial.
Thompson, a former state legislator, had been a judge for nearly 23 years before he retired in 2004 amid the allegations. He admitted that the penis pump was his but said it was a gag gift for his 50th birthday and had never been used. His attorney, Clark Brewster, had admitted that Thompson had purchased another penis pump after a doctor who was treating him for erectile dysfunction and other medical problems had recommended it.
Thompson's attorney had claimed he wasn't guilty of masturbating on the bench as charged and said the local police were out to get his client because Thompson had made rulings unfavorable to them. 12-07-06
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© 2006 North
Country Gazette
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