Charges filed: Ongoing saga of masturbating former judge Donald Thompson

The Oklahoma judge who was forced from the bench in 2004 for using a penis pump in court was charged on January 21, 2005, with indecent exposure for his judicial indiscretions. Donald Thompson, 58, entered a not guilty plea yesterday to three felony counts during an appearance in Creek County District Court, where he worked until resigning last August. According to the probable cause affidavit, Thompson exposed himself during three separate 2003 cases (two of which were murder trials). For example, on May 13, while he was presiding over State v. Kurt Arnold Vomberg (who was accused of killing his girlfriend's 21-month-old daughter), Thompson loudly pumped himself up. Two court employees told investigators that they saw Thompson (pictured in the mug shot at right) attach the suction device to his penis, while five jurors reported hearing whooshing sounds, which they thought were coming from either a bicycle pump, blood pressure cuff, or an air cushion on the judge's chair. After a January 7 search of Thompson's former courtroom and chambers yielded items that tested positive for seminal fluid, investigators secured a search warrant to obtain a DNA sample from the ex-jurist. During testimony last year before the Council on Judicial Complaints, Thompson denied masturbating on the bench, using the penis pump, or depositing urine or semen into a wastebasket under his bench. Thompson's demise was triggered by a complaint filed against him in June of 2004 by the Oklahoma Attorney General, who sought to oust the jurist for a variety of illicit behavior, which the AG detailed in a removal petition. Along with using the penis pump, Thompson also allegedly shaved and oiled his private parts, according to accounts given to state investigators by a clerk, trial witnesses, and a court reporter. If convicted of the indecent exposure counts, Thompson could face a maximum of 10 years in prison on each charge.

Since the charges being filed, the prosecutors have amended the complaint. It appears that Thompson will stand trial this month.

Although there is a din over this incident, it sounds like this fellow is simply crazy. But, once again, there were attorneys and other judges who were aware that he was misbehaving yet did nothing to stop him. His misbehavior was likely not limited to improper sex conduct in court. Why didn't someone complain about him before?