Alabama Judge Found Not Guilty Of Sexually Abusing Inmates

October 27, 2009 8:46 a.m. EST

Mobile, AL (AHN) - A former Alabama judge accused of spanking inmates with a paddle for his sexual pleasure, has been cleared of charges of sexual abuse, sodomy and assault.

According to the Press-Register, former Circuit Court Judge Herman Thomas was found not guilty of five counts of sexual abuse, one count of sodomy and another of assault. He was acquitted of 14 remaining charges of sexual abuse and sodomy by the presiding judge because the jury could not reach a verdict.

The 48-year-old Thomas was charged with a 57-count indictment earlier this year, saying he paddled the buttocks of men who were detained or had been detained at the Mobile County Metro Jail. The victims were between 18 and 25 years old, and had allegedly been abused or forced to perform oral sex on Thomas, who resigned as judge in 2007 amid allegations of unethical conduct.

Thomas has maintained his innocence but has told CNN through 96his attorney he did bring in inmates into his office to "mentor" them. An African-American, he has also cited racism as the reason for the allegations, despite a report from the district attorney's office that semen from one of the inmates matched stains on a carpet Thomas had used while he was a judge.