Judges Do It Too

June 30 2006 at 09:59PM

Bristow, Oklahoma - A US jury has sentenced an
Oklahoma judge to one year in prison for using a penis
pump on the bench during three murder trials and a
civil case in 2002 and 2003.

Donald D Thompson, 59, was convicted on Thursday and
fined $10 000 (about R130 000) for each count.
Thompson told the jury he would also lose his $90
000-a-year pension.

The verdict, which exposed the judge's
behind-the-bench secrets, capped a bizarre and awkward
chapter in the state's judicial history.

Thompson's longtime court reporter, Lisa Foster, wept
on the stand as she recalled how she discovered the
source of a "sh-sh" sound in the courtroom. She said
she spied Thompson's penis inside the pump through a
small gap between a drawer and a door.

'I should have thrown it away, but I didn't'
Foster said she later saw Thompson's penis 15 to 20
times over the course of three years. She also saw him
shave his scrotum and urinate into a trashcan behind
the bench.

"I was really shocked and kind of scared, because it
was so bizarre," Foster said. "I didn't know what to
do."

The defence maintained that the charges were part of a
vendetta by local police to overthrow Thompson.

The judge denied ever using the pump - a device used
in the hope of enlarging the penis or combating
erectile dysfunction - saying it was a joke gift from
his best friend in 2001.

He said he moved the pump back and forth between his
bench and chambers but never used it on his penis.

"Twenty-twenty hindsight: I should have thrown it
away, but I didn't," Thompson said.

The white-handled pump sat on an evidence table in
front of the jury throughout the trial, and both the
prosecution and defence at times picked it up and
squeezed the handle for effect.

Jurors also heard court reporter's tapes from each
trial, and a rhythmic, high-pitched whoosh of air
punctuated emotional witness testimony in the murder
trials.

Testimony in the judge's trial drew giggles and
embarrassed glances from jurors and the gallery in
this conservative Oklahoma hamlet, 96km north-east of
Oklahoma City.

Several witnesses said Thompson often made himself at
home behind the bench, removing his shoes to shine
them and clip his toenails, spitting tobacco into a
cup and fidgeting with an electronic organiser. - Sapa-AFP