Fox News legal analyst and ex New Jersey judge Andrew Napolitano is being sued by a former defendant in his court who says he sexually assaulted him, then rewarded him with a lenient sentence.

The alleged victim filed a civil lawsuit against Napolitano in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York on September 11 claiming sexual assault and that he was forced, at the age of 20, to perform oral sex on the judge. According to the lawsuit, the abuse took place in 1988, when the plaintiff was charged in connection with an arson.

The plaintiff is accusing Judge Napolitano of sexual assault, assault, battery and intentional infliction of emotional distress. He is seeking $10 million in damages from Judge Napolitano.

Judge Napolitano Denies Claims

Napolitano issued a statement denying the charges shortly after the lawsuit against him was filed, the New York Post reported. “I have never done anything like what the accuser describes, at any time, to anyone, for any reason,” the paper quoted him as saying.

Four days later, on Tuesday, Judge Napolitano filed a libel lawsuit against the plaintiff, the New Jersey Law Journal reported.

Accuser Says Judge Attempted to Prevent Lawsuit

In addition to the sex abuse claims, the alleged victim is also accusing Judge Napolitano of trying to stop him from filing the lawsuit by reporting him to police, the Daily Beast reported.

“In a brazen attempt to intimidate (the) plaintiff and stop him from filing this lawsuit, (Napolitano) reached out to law enforcement authorities and made completely false criminal accusations against (the) plaintiff,” the lawsuit says. Judge Napolitano allegedly told the police that the plaintiff threated him with violence. “These claims were outright fabrications … (the) plaintiff never made any threats whatsoever of any kind,”

Further, the lawsuit claims Judge Napolitano attempted to intimidate a witness the plaintiff intended to rely on during his civil case. The plaintiff says the former judge or someone acting on his behalf saw to it that “police tracked down this witness and went to his home, and started to aggressively question him regarding the whereabouts of (the plaintiff).” The experience left the potential witness “extremely upset and unnerved,” the lawsuit says.

The lawsuit has been brought by a single plaintiff. It is not a class action lawsuit.

Plaintiff Tells of Experience with Judge

According to the civil complaint, the plaintiff was arrested and charged in connection with an arson in 1987. His criminal defense attorney, Robert Hollis, got the case transferred to Judge Napolitano, instructed the plaintiff to plead guilty to the charges against him and then arranged for a meeting between the young man and the judge at the judge’s home.

Once there, the plaintiff says he was told to shovel snow from the judge’s driveway before the judge summoned him to the side of the house. The plaintiff says Judge Napolitano was wearing a trench coat and said “you know, you could be going away for a long time” before he pushed the plaintiff to his knees and told him to “be a good boy.” The alleged victim says he was then forced to perform oral sex on the judge and was “terrified about what Judge Napolitano would do to him if he resisted or fought back.”

After the incident, the lawsuit says, two of the plaintiff’s three criminal charges were dismissed and the remaining charge was revised. Judge Napolitano then sentenced him to five years of  probation and 150 hours of community service. The plaintiff’s co-defendant faced the same charges, originally, and was sentenced to several years in prison, according to the lawsuit.

Judge Napolitano’s accuser also claims the judge arranged for any future charges against him to be assigned to Napolitano’s court. The plaintiff says he violated his probation five times and rather than be ordered to jail, Judge Napolitano terminated the probation – despite the plaintiff being charged with weapons and drug crimes.

“Napolitano’s leniency was a deliberate and calculated attempt to create ‘good will’ with (the) plaintiff, and thereby ensure that plaintiff would remain silent about (the) sexual assault,” the lawsuit claims.

Napolitano was a Superior Court judge in Bergen County from 1987 to 1995, when he returned to private practice and, later, political and legal analysis on Fox.

Hollis was later indicted in connection with running a multimillion-dollar prostitution scheme and ultimately pleaded guilty to federal money laundering charges in the case, the Post reported.

This article is not legal advice. It is presented
for informational purposes only.