Judiciary
Town justice resigns after he is accused of encouraging minor to have sex with his son
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An 87-year-old town court justice in New York has resigned amid an ethics investigation into allegations that he encouraged a minor to have sex with his teenage son.
The New York State Commission on Judicial Conduct announced the resignation of George K. Wittlinger of the Ancram Town Court in Columbia County, New York, in a Feb. 8 news release. He has agreed never to seek judicial office in the future.
The New York Post, Law.com, HudsonValley360.com and Syracuse.com coverage.
The commission was investigating allegations that Wittlinger offered gifts and money to the minor in exchange for sexual favors and gave her alcoholic beverages.
The subject matter of the ethics investigation concerned the same allegations made in a separate civil suit described as “explosive” by the New York Post.
According to Law.com and the New York Post, the civil plaintiff alleged that she began a romance with Wittlinger’s son when she was 15 years old. The judge allegedly moved the plaintiff and her younger sister into his home and provided for them from 2017 through 2020.
During that time, he allegedly encouraged the plaintiff to have sex with his son and spoke of his hope that the teen couple would marry.
Wittlinger had denied the allegations, and the suit was dismissed in October 2021. Prosecutors declined to bring criminal charges, the victim’s attorney, Michael Sussman, told Law.com. He said the plaintiff dropped the civil suit because she was “terrified” and “uncomfortable” with the thought of continuing to pursue her claims.
Wittlinger quit his post Dec. 31, the same month that he learned of the investigation. He is not an attorney.
See also:
ABAJournal.com: “Town justice should be removed for sexist Facebook posts, NRA fundraising, commission says”
