CARROLL COUNTY (KFSM) — The Arkansas Judicial Discipline and Disability Commission announced Tuesday (Jan. 3) Carroll County District Judge Timothy Parker was removed and resigned after an investigation into Parker allegedly receiving sexual favors from female litigants for bonds or releases.
Parker’s letter of removal states that from 2013 to 2016 he engaged in a pattern of personal relationship with women who appeared in his court. The bonds and release of these women or their family or friends were done by their request in exchange for sexual favors, according to the letter.
There are also allegations of trading cash and prescription pills for sexual favors or money with many of the same women, as well as other women in the community, the letter states.
The JDDC has video statements from over a dozen women, as well as recordings of conversations women in the jail had with Parker in his role as District Court Judge, according to the letter. Text messages from Parker’s phone and the phones of the women also support the allegations, the letter states.
“The victims and law enforcement and the people who came forward deserve to have their story told and deserve to have some knowledge that what they came forward about mattered,” said Judicial Discipline and Disability Commission director David Sachar. ” In this case we were able to keep even the judge from knowing who our witnesses were. He resigned before we would have had to refer all of our information to him. So, it helped keep some anonymity for the women who he at least admits to picking up from the jail and doing favors for. And although he denies it on the sexual allegations, it keeps them from having their names out there right now at this point.”
Parker denied those allegations, according to the letter.
He resigned Dec. 31, 2016 with a declaration of permanent ineligibility to serve in the Arkansas judiciary, the letter states. Parker stated his decision to resign without defending himself against the allegations was based on the effects the litigation would have on his family and the time and expense of litigation, according to the letter.
Parker did admit to performing probable cause determinations, lowering bond settings and releases for defendants who were either his friends or former clients from his part-time private practice without properly disclosing his relationship with those defendants, the letter states. Parker often went to the jail or called the jail directly to prompt defendants’ releases, according to the letter. He also gave rides to defendants in his own vehicle after they just had their release secured by his ruling, the letter states.
“It was important and symbolic that we got him to resign while he was still on the bench. We really wanted to send a message to the public and to any judge who decides that this is the course they want to take that we will work hard to remove you from office while you’re a judge. Even if it is one day,” Sachar said.
