A former New Jersey man claims he was sexually assaulted by celebrity Judge Andrew Napolitano in exchange for a lenient sentence in an arson case in the 1980s, according to a bombshell lawsuit filed Friday.
The alleged victim, Charles Corbishley, also alleges the judge tried to block him from filing the suit in Manhattan federal court by lodging false police reports against him, the suit states.
In a statement Friday, Napolitano, who appears on Fox News as a news analyst, denied the claims.
“These accusations are completely false. Full stop. I have never done anything like what the accuser describes, at any time, to anyone, for any reason,” he said in the statement.
“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,” he added.
Corbishley, who now lives in South Carolina, claimed in the suit that the abuse happened after he was indicted for arson in 1987 and retained a corrupt lawyer named Robert Hollis.
Hollis, who was later indicted for running a multimillion-dollar prostitution scheme, got Corbishley’s case transferred to the courtroom of Napolitano, whom he called “a friend,” according to the suit.
After the case was transferred, the lawyer allegedly set up a meeting between Corbishley, who was 20 at the time, and Napolitano at a house in Hackensack in 1988, the suit states.
The lawyer told Corbishley to bring a snow shovel and a Christmas card to give to the judge, according to the suit.
When he answered the door, Napolitano told him to shovel the driveway of the house, which left Corbishley confused because there was no snow to remove.
“Shortly thereafter, Defendant Napolitano came outside, dressed in a long trench coat. Defendant Napolitano then called out to plaintiff and summoned him to come to the side of the house, saying ‘can you come back here for a minute’?” the suit states.
The judge made small talk with the 20-year-old, before telling him, “you know, you could be going away for a long time,” according to the suit.
“He proceeded to place his hand on plaintiff’s shoulder, and forced plaintiff to his knees. As he pushed plaintiff down toward the ground, defendant told plaintiff to ‘be a good boy’,” the suit states.
The judge then forced him to perform oral sex on him, according to the suit.
After the alleged abuse, the judge gave him an extremely light sentence, allowing him to avoid any jail time in exchange for community service, the suit states.
Napolitano went on to vacate the community service — even after Corbishley failed three separate drug tests and violated his probation, according to the suit.
Corbishley also claims that when Napolitano got wind that he would be filing the suit in Manhattan federal court, the conservative columnist contacted law enforcement authorities and made false claims that Corbishley had made threats of violence against him.
Corbishley is seeking a jury trial against the judge and $10 million in damages.
In a statement, Fox News, where Napolitano works as senior judicial analyst, said the judge will fight the allegations in court.
“Judge Napolitano has assured us in the strongest possible terms that these allegations are false and he will fight them aggressively in court,” the network said.