Ala. prosecutor says ex-judge accused of sex with inmates is a ‘Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde’
By APFriday, October 9, 2009
Ex-judge in Ala. sex case called a ‘Jekyll-Hyde’
MOBILE, Ala. — A prosecutor is describing a former Alabama judge as a “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” who had sex with inmates in return for leniency.
Former Mobile Circuit Judge Herman Thomas is being tried on charges including kidnapping, sodomy, and sexual abuse involving allegations by 15 current and former inmates in the Mobile jail.
Chief Assistant District Attorney Nicki Patterson said Friday the judge built a reputation for mentoring troubled young men while hiding his sex abuse of them.
Defense attorney Jeff Deen said Thomas is the victim of unproven jailhouse rumors. He said Thomas is also in court because of political enemies he made during a 17-year career as a judge.
The judge, now 48, resigned in 2007 after allegations surfaced that he paddled inmates.
