- Fox News judicial analyst Andrew Napolitano has been accused of sexually assaulting a former defendent whose case he oversaw as a New Jersey judge, according to a federal lawsuit filed last Friday.
- Charles Corbishley filed the lawsuit seeking $10 million in damages from the former New Jersey judge, who he claimed "forcibly sodomized" him in 1987 when Corbishley was 20 years old, NJ.com reported.
- Corbishley said he developed severe anxiety, recurring suicidal thoughts, and physical ailments as a result of the alleged assault, according to the lawsuit.
- Corbishley also said that Napolitano attempted to prevent him from filing the lawsuit by attempting to intimidate him with police.
- Napolitano denied all charges in a statement. Fox News said in a statement that Napolitano "has assured us in the strongest possible terms that these allegations are false and he will fight them aggressively in court."
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Fox News analyst and former New Jersey Superior Court Andrew Napolitano has been accused of sexually assaulting a former defendant in his court, according to a federal lawsuit.
The lawsuit, filed last Friday in New York's Southern District Court, claimed that Napolitano sexually assaulted Charles Corbishley in Hackensack, New Jersey, more than 30 years ago.
Corbishley was set to appear in Napolitano's courtroom as a defendant facing charges on three counts of arson. He is seeking $10 million in damages for being "forcibly sodomized and sexually assaulted," according to the lawsuit, citing a report from NJ.com.
Corbishley, then 20 years old, had hired Robert Hollis as his defense attorney in November of 1987. The lawsuit said that Corbishley's case was "suddenly" transferred to Napolitano's court after Corbishley hired Hollis.
Hollis, who later pled guilty to laundering money for prostitution rings in 1998, allegedly told Corbishley that Napolitano was his friend, and told Corbishley that he "can take care of your case now."
According to the lawsuit, Hollis told Corbishley to meet Napolitano at a private residence in Hackensack, and to bring a snow shovel. When Corbishley arrived, Napolitano told him to shovel the driveway, which had already been shoveled, the lawsuit said.
Napolitano then came outside in a long trench coat and asked Corbishley to come to the side of the house, where he told Corbishley, "You know, you could be going away for a long time," according to the lawsuit.
Napolitano then allegedly forced Corbishley to perform oral sex on him, saying, "Be a good boy," the lawsuit claimed.
The lawsuit said Corbishley was "paralyzed with fear" and was afraid of what Napolitano would do if he fought back. The lawsuit said Corbishley ran away crying afterwards. Hollis later instructed Corbishley to plead guilty on all three charges, telling him not to "worry about anything," according to the lawsuit.
Napolitano handed Corbishley a "remarkably lenient sentence" of five years probation and 150 hours of community service and instructed that any of Corbishley's future probation violations be brought directly to him, according to the lawsuit. Corbishley's co-defendant was sentenced to several years in prison for the same charges.
The lawsuit claimed that Napolitano attempted to intimidate Corbishley to prevent him from filing the lawsuit by contacting police in New York and South Carolina saying Corbishley had threatened Napolitano's life.
"Judge Napolitano has assured us in the strongest possible terms that these allegations are false and he will fight them aggressively in court," Fox News said in a statement.
Napolitano denied all allegations in a statement to the Sun News in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.
"These accusations are completely false. Full stop," Napolitano said. "I have never done anything like what the accuser describes, at any time, to anyone, for any reason. I have never had any personal relationship or inappropriate contact or communication of any kind with the man making this accusation."
"Each and every one of his claims against me are pure fiction. Period."
According to the lawsuit, Corbishley said he developed severe anxiety, physical ailments, and recurring suicidal thoughts in light of the incident.
"As a direct result of Napolitano's sexual assault on him, Plaintiff Charles Corbishley has suffered severe, permanent and irreparable emotional and physical harm, and will continue to do so for the remainder of his life," the lawsuit claimed.
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