You Have To See The Shocking Allegations Against This Judge

By Kathryn Rubino

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/ Nov 18, 2015 at 5:59 PM

Ever wonder what Lex Luthor would do if he were a state judge? What kind of shenanigans would he get into as he tried to use the full powers of the judiciary for his own nefarious purposes? Would he try to coerce defendants in his courtroom to have a sexual relationship with him in return for lighter sentences?
This may seem like a random thought experiment, but in light of the recent allegations — which seem to reach almost soap-opera levels of evil — against Cross County, Arkansas, District Judge Joseph Boeckmann, the question has moved to the forefront of my mind. Yesterday, Arkansas state judicial ethics regulators filed charges against the judge, alleging he used his position and authority over defendants in front of him to receive personal and sexual favors — oh, and there’s also an allegation of kiddie porn possession.
The Arkansas Times reports on the charges, which include having cases before the judge that involve men he’s been intimate with and influencing the cases against his sexual partner’s family members. But some of the more egregious claims include allegations that Judge Boeckmann made a habit of targeting younger men who were sentenced to community service and offering them some alternative “community service.” From the Arkansas Judicial Discipline and Disability Commission’s filing:

The ‘work’ usually consisted of picking up cans either alongside city roads in Wynne, or actually picking up cans at Boeckmannn’s residence, wherein Boeckmann would photograph the buttocks of the men as they were bending to retrieve the garbage. Multiple male litigants have been photographed by Boeckmann during these ‘community serivce’ type sentences. Boeckmann maintained these photographs of male litigants’ buttocks in his home for his own personal use. In addition to the illegal sentences, Boeckmann has used his judicial status to form relationships, personal and sexual, with male litigants. Beockmann has engaged in a consistent pattern of seeking out young Caucasain male litigants before Cross County District Court for the purpose of forming personal sexual relations with the litigants, thus creating a self-imposed conflict of interest for himself in his role as Cross County District Court judge.

Those that were targeted for these “substitutionary sentences” were also frequently solicited by Judge Boeckmann for sexual relations in exchange for a reduction in their sentence or dismissal, according to court papers. One such victim also indicated he assisted the judge in removing child pornography from his computer. The Arkansas Times also details the paper trail the judge’s alleged activities have left:

The complaint said banking records indicate Boeckmann gave money to lawyers who appeared before him and to law enforcement officials and to the court itelf [sic] on behalf of litigants in his court with whom he’d had personal or employment relationships.

Through his attorney, Judge Boeckmann has denied the charges: “We will file a document denying the charges and will be defending against the allegations in front of the commission.”
Due to the serious nature of the allegations, the case has also been referred to a special prosecutor; no word as yet on that separate investigation.
(Read the full complaint again Judge Boeckmann on the next page.)
Ethics charges say District Judge Joseph Boeckmann traded court favors for work and sexual favors [Arkansas Times]