In Arkansas, ex-judge faces 21-count indictment

Associated Press

LITTLE ROCK, ARK.

A former Arkansas judge accused of giving lighter sentences to defendants in exchange for nude photos and sexual acts tried to bribe witnesses and had an accomplice threaten to make one of them “disappear,” federal prosecutors said shortly after his arrest Monday.

Joseph Boeckmann appeared disheveled as the accusations were levied during his arraignment hearing in U.S. District Court in Little Rock.

The 70-year-old pleaded not guilty to bribery, fraud and other federal charges just hours after prosecutors unsealed a 21-count indictment.

Dozens of men have accused the former Cross County district court judge of sexual abuse and misconduct dating back decades to his time as a prosecutor. Some men said he gave them money in exchange for spanking them with a paddle and to take photos of the red skin. Others said they posed nude in exchange for money to pay off court fines.

Boeckmann – who resigned in May after an investigation by a state judiciary board – purportedly had more than 4,600 photos of nude or semi-nude men.

The most serious charges carry maximum sentences of 20 years in prison and $250,000 in fines.