The FBI claimed that a former district court judge in Arkansas was detained on Thursday after being accused of asking a defendant’s girlfriend for sexual favors in exchange for advancing the defendant’s criminal case.
Thomas Carruth, 63, of Clarendon, was apprehended in Little Rock and charged with nine offenses, including obstruction of justice, bribery, and wire fraud, all of which carry lengthy prison sentences.
Court records show that when he reportedly requested sex from a woman in April 2022 as part of a deal to hasten her boyfriend’s trial date, Carruth was an elected judge of the Monroe County district court.
When asked about the event by FBI agents, Carruth allegedly lied.
According to a statement from the Department of Justice, Carruth was charged by indictment with three counts of honest services wire fraud, three counts of using an interstate commerce facility to further unlawful activity, one count of bribery, one count of making false statements, and one count of obstructing justice.
The top counts against the ex-judge carry sentences of up to 20 years in jail.
The FBI conducted a raid on Carruth’s house in June, and the Arkansas Judicial Discipline and Disability Commission confirmed in a statement that he resigned from his part-time judicial job in August to seek for another public office.
According to the commission, it is looking at two complaints about Carruth that are connected to the FBI investigation.
Carruth stated that he had been the target of a blackmail attempt in an interview with KARK-TV the day following the raid on his house last summer.
At the time, Carruth said that a lady had “made a false accusation” against him and would “do anything” to keep her lover out of jail.
The judge claims he reported the blackmail effort to the FBI and Arkansas State Police right afterwards.
Carruth told KARK, “I’ve done all I’m required to do. “I called the police when someone tried to get me to do something.”
According to a complaint submitted to the US District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas by the woman, who goes by the name Jane Doe, Carruth met with her and offered to free her boyfriend from prison if she would agree to have sex with him, but she refused, according to the Northwest Arkansas Democrat Gazette.
Late in August, Doe filed a lawsuit against Carruth, charging him with defamation.
»Former Arkansas district court judge arrested for soliciting sex from defendant’s girlfriend«