Criminal Law Judge Accused of Raping Prostitute in NM

You don’t usually see judges in this type of situation, but then again this article goes to show, no matter what position we hold, we are all capable of mistakes and everyone, including officials, is accountable to the law of the land. Let’s hope that in this case justice prevails and that we don’t see situations like this happening more often, because the integrity of the judicial office is important to our legal system in America.

Posted by: Criminal Defense Lawyer Nick Alcock, Alcock & Associates, Phoenix Arizona

Original source: http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/criminal_court_judge_accused_of_raping_prostitute_in_incident_caught_on_tap/

A New Mexico judge has been accused of forcing a prostitute to perform a sex act without her consent in an incident she secretly taped.

Judge Pat Murdoch of Albuquerque was arrested Tuesday on charges of criminal sexual penetration and intimidation of a witness, report KASA.com, KOB.com and KRQE.com.

Murdoch has handled several high-profile criminal cases, including one in which he sentenced a former policeman to probation for raping a suspect, according to the KRQE story. Murdoch reasoned that prison would be more difficult for a policeman than other rape defendants.

According to the criminal complaint, undercover officers paid the prostitute and her pimp $400 for the video after receiving a tip about it, the KASA story says. The prostitute told police she had sex with the judge about eight times, and twice he performed oral sex without her consent, according to allegations cited by KOB. The second time, the prostitute told police, she recorded the incident.

The prostitute alleges she later asked the judge what would happen if anyone made allegations against him, and he said he would use his connections to take care of the situation.