The former judge who lost his position, was sent to prison and cut off from his pension because he used a penis pump in court has decided to appeal a ruling that revoked his retirement pay.
Donald D. Thompson had been convicted on four counts of indecent exposure and sentenced to four years in prison for using a penis pump underneath his robe during court hearings. He served 20 months and was suspended from law practice.
Thompson was receiving $7,789 a month when his benefits were cut off on grounds that his conduct violated his oath of office. He had spent almost 23 years on the bench and had served as a state legislator before retiring from the court in 2004.
Thompson testified that the penis pump was given to him as a joke by a longtime buddy. "It wasn't something I was hiding," he said. Thompson said he may have squeezed the pump's handle during court cases but never used it to masturbate.
A court employee told police that she saw Thompson use the device almost daily during the August 2003 murder trial of a man accused of shaking a toddler to death. A whooshing sound could be heard on an audiotape of the trial.
Police built a case against the judge after an officer testifying in a 2003 murder trial saw a piece of plastic tubing disappear under Thompson's robe. During a break, officers took photographs of the penis pump under the desk.
Detectives later found semen after checking the carpet, Thompson's robes and his chair behind the bench, according to court records.
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