ARKANSAS: Judge Accused Of Soliciting Sex From Young Men In Return For Lighter Sentences

The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reports:

A Cross County judge is accused of soliciting sex from offenders in his court in exchange for sentence reductions, the Judicial Discipline and Disability Commission said. District Court Judge Joseph Boeckmann will have 30 days to respond to charges filed by the commission, which were released Tuesday. He is also entitled to a hearing in front of the commission to determine whether he violated rules of judicial conduct. The commission could “admonish, reprimand or censure” the judge, David Sachar, executive director of the commission, said during a news conference Tuesday afternoon.

He added that the commission does not have the authority to suspend Boeckmann, adding that “it is not out of the realm of possibility” that the commission would go through the Arkansas Supreme Court to seek removal of the judge from the bench. Boeckmann, a district judge since 2009, used his role as judge to seek “out young Caucasian male litigants,” for the purpose of sexual relationships, the commission stated in its allegations. “My staff has gone through thousands of pages of documents, court records, checks, and that will be part of the case,” Sachar said, adding “there are still some determinations to be made.”

The judge is also being investigated over claims that he has child porn on his computer.