Originally Posted - March 5, 2007

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TULSA, OK---Penis pump judge Donald Thompson is scheduled to appear before a hearing officer Tuesday in his appeal of the revocation of his $93,000 a year state pension.

Thompson, 59, thinks he should collect his $7,789 a month pension even though he's sitting in prison, serving his sentence for masturbating while presiding over jury trials including a murder case.

In December, the Oklahoma Public Employees Retirement System issued a ruling to withhold Thompson's retirement benefits after he was found guilty in June at jury trial of four felony courts of indecent exposure.

They say his felony convictions violate his oath of office in which he pledged to support, obey and defend the Constitutions of the United States and the state and to faithfully discharge his duties as a district judge.

He was sentenced to four consecutive one-year jail terms in August. In December, , after serving only four months of the term, Thompson sought parole and was denied by the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board.

Thompson is appealing his convictions and continues to maintain his innocence. He claims the penis pump was a gag gift on his 50th birthday from a friend and despite witness accounts, including police officers, he claims he never used it and that his sentence is too harsh. Thompson had filed a motion asking to remain free pending appeal but it was denied.

Thompson, a former state legislator, had been a judge for nearly 23 years before he retired in 2004 amid the allegations.

According to PERS, his retirement benefits from his public service before he became a judge, while he was a state legislator, are not affected by his conviction and he continues to collect them. Thompson argues the $7,789 in benefits he received for his service as judge from February 1982 until his resignation in August 2004 should continue until his appeals have been exhausted and he wants all the money that has been withheld so far to be reimbursed to him. 3-05-07

© 2007 North Country Gazette