A Freedom of Information Act request last week showed that the
Department of Justice dropped a sexual abuse civil rights investigation
the day after President Barack Obama’s inauguration, citing “conflict of
interest.”
In 2009, Herman Thomas, a black Democratic judge who had been elected numerous times in an Alabama county with predominantly white and Republican population, saw what had been a promising career come to an abrupt halt after he was indicted on charges of sodomy, kidnapping, sex abuse, extortion, assault and ethics violations. According to the indictment, Thomas was accused of sexually abusing male inmates in exchange for leniency.
According to information received in the FOIA request by Lagniappe, a bi-weekly Mobile, Ala.-based alternative newspaper, an order was sent on Jan. 21, 2009, to drop the investigation citing an undisclosed “conflict of interest.” Ten of 11 pages were withheld in the returned FOIA request.
Though evidence against Thomas was strong, including one of the alleged victims’ semen being found on his office’s carpet, the Mobile County District Attorney’s office did not secure a full guilty verdict. The jury acquitted Thomas on major counts, and was gridlocked on others.
Despite the gridlocked charges, the trial judge directed a verdict on all counts in favor of Thomas.
But that finding did not mean Thomas had been fully cleared of the federal charges he could be facing on civil rights counts — at least that’s what the public thought at the time.
But as it turned out, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Alabama had dropped their investigation, even before the local trial had taken place.
In 2009, Herman Thomas, a black Democratic judge who had been elected numerous times in an Alabama county with predominantly white and Republican population, saw what had been a promising career come to an abrupt halt after he was indicted on charges of sodomy, kidnapping, sex abuse, extortion, assault and ethics violations. According to the indictment, Thomas was accused of sexually abusing male inmates in exchange for leniency.
According to information received in the FOIA request by Lagniappe, a bi-weekly Mobile, Ala.-based alternative newspaper, an order was sent on Jan. 21, 2009, to drop the investigation citing an undisclosed “conflict of interest.” Ten of 11 pages were withheld in the returned FOIA request.
Though evidence against Thomas was strong, including one of the alleged victims’ semen being found on his office’s carpet, the Mobile County District Attorney’s office did not secure a full guilty verdict. The jury acquitted Thomas on major counts, and was gridlocked on others.
Despite the gridlocked charges, the trial judge directed a verdict on all counts in favor of Thomas.
But that finding did not mean Thomas had been fully cleared of the federal charges he could be facing on civil rights counts — at least that’s what the public thought at the time.
But as it turned out, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Alabama had dropped their investigation, even before the local trial had taken place.
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