Fox News legal analyst Andrew Napolitano is sued for $10M by man who claims the judge gave him a lenient arson sentence in exchange for oral sex 32 years ago
Andrew Napolitano, the Fox News legal analyst and former judge, has been sued by a one-time criminal defendant for $10million who claims that he was forced to perform oral sex on him while he presided over his case in 1988.
A lawsuit filed in Manhattan federal court on Friday alleges that Napolitano sexually assaulted Charles Corbishley after he lured him to his New Jersey home under false pretenses.
Napolitano, who is being accused of sexual assault, battery and intentional infliction of emotional distress, has denied the allegations.
‘These accusations are completely false,’ Napolitano said in a statement given to DailyMail.com by his attorney, Thomas Clare.
‘Full stop. I have never done anything like what the accuser describes, at any time, to anyone, for any reason.
Andrew Napolitano, the Fox News legal analyst and former New Jersey State Superior Court judge, has denied allegations he sexually assaulted a defendant in a case that he presided over in the late 1980s
‘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.’
Clare said the lawsuit was ‘an outrageous abuse of our court system.’
He also alleged that Corbishley has ‘made threats to harm Judge Napolitano.’
‘Given Corbishley’s violent past and threats to harm Judge Napolitano, law enforcement is monitoring his movements and taking additional steps to ensure Judge Napolitano’s safety,’ Clare said in a statement.
‘We will defeat these false allegations in court and look forward to exposing this brazen attempt to smear a dedicated former public servant with an abusive court proceeding.’
Fox News released a statement to DailyMail.com saying: ‘Judge Napolitano has assured us in the strongest possible terms that these allegations are false and he will fight them aggressively in court.’
According to the court filing, Napolitano was a judge in New Jersey State Superior Court in November 1987, when Corbishley was charged with arson.
Corbishley’s attorney, Robert Hollis, manages to get his client’s case switched so that ‘my friend’ Napolitano would be the presiding judge, the lawsuit alleges.
At the time, Corbishley was not aware that Hollis was ‘running a national prostitution ring’ as well as engaging in other acts that resulted in him being disbarred in New Jersey numerous times, according to the court filing.
With Napolitano as the presiding judge, Hollis is said to have told Corbishley to plead guilty to all three counts in the indictment.
According to the court filing, Hollis instructed Corbishley to meet Napolitano at a residence in a ‘clandestine location’ in Hackensack, New Jersey, in or about December 1988.
Corbishley alleges that Hollis told him to bring a snow shovel and a Christmas card for the judge. Corbishley did as he was told, according to the lawsuit.
When he arrived, Napolitano instructed Corbishley to shovel snow from the driveway and the surrounding area adjacent to the house.
Corbishley ‘found this request to be peculiar, because the driveway already had been shoveled, and there did not appear to be any heavy snow around the house that needed shoveling,’ according to the court filing.
Napolitano then went outside and invited Corbishley to come to the side of the house, the lawsuit alleges.
After the two made ‘small talk,’ Napolitano is alleged to have remarked to Corbishley: ‘You know, you could be going away for a long time.’
According to the court filing, Napolitano was a judge in New Jersey State Superior Court in November 1987, when Corbishley was charged with arson
Corbishley’s attorney, Robert Hollis, manages to get his client’s case switched so that ‘my friend’ Napolitano would be the presiding judge, the lawsuit alleges
At the time, Corbishley was not aware that Hollis was ‘running a national prostitution ring’ as well as engaging in other acts that resulted in him being disbarred in New Jersey numerous times, according to the court filing
With Napolitano as the presiding judge, Hollis is said to have told Corbishley to plead guilty to all three counts in the indictment
According to the court filing, Hollis instructed Corbishley to meet Napolitano at a residence in a ‘clandestine location’ in Hackensack, New Jersey, in or about December 1988
After the two made ‘small talk,’ Napolitano is alleged to have remarked to Corbishley: ‘You know, you could be going away for a long time’
At this point, Napolitano is alleged to have placed his hand on Corbishley’s shoulder and forced him to his knees. The lawsuit alleges Napolitano pushed Corbishley ‘down toward the ground’ and told him: ‘Be a good boy.’
Napolitano ‘appeared to be masturbating through his clothing, moving his hand back and forth over his penis,’ the lawsuit alleges. The judge is then alleged to have ‘pulled his erect penis out.’
After the alleged assault, the judge handed down what Corbishley’s lawyer says was a lenient sentence
The court filing also stated: ‘By comparison, Edward Weedo - Mr. Corbishley’s co-defendant in the case, who was indicted on the exact same three criminal charges - was sentenced to several years in prison for committing the same crime.’
The lawsuit states that Corbishley 'has been tormented by recurring thoughts of committing suicide and hanging himself' since the alleged assault
Corbishley 'has suffered severe, permanent and irreparable emotional and physical harm, and will continue to do so for the remainder of his life.'
Napolitano, through his attorney, has vehemently denied the allegations
Corbishley is seeking a total of $10million as compensation for sexual assault, battery and intentional infliction of emotional distress
At this point, Napolitano is alleged to have placed his hand on Corbishley’s shoulder and forced him to his knees.
The lawsuit alleges Napolitano pushed Corbishley ‘down toward the ground’ and told him: ‘Be a good boy.’
Napolitano ‘appeared to be masturbating through his clothing, moving his hand back and forth over his penis,’ the lawsuit alleges.
The judge is then alleged to have ‘pulled his erect penis out.’
Corbishley was ‘then forced to perform fellatio on’ Napolitano,’ the lawsuit alleges.
The court filing states that Corbishley ‘desperately wanted to stop Napolitano’s sexual assault’ but that ‘he was terrified about what Judge Napolitano would do to him if he resisted or fought back.’
‘Based on the power disparity between Judge Napolitano and Corbishley, it was impossible for Corbishley to have “consented” to any sexual activities with Napolitano,’ the lawsuit states.
The court filing further states that as Napolitano ‘began to ejaculate into’ Corbishley’s mouth, Corbishley ‘took off crying and ran away.’
Corbishley was 20 years old at the time of the alleged incident.
After the alleged assault, the judge handed down what Corbishley’s lawyer says was a lenient sentence.
‘The bottom two criminal charges were dismissed, and the top charge was amended,’ according to the lawsuit.
‘Judge Napolitano then imposed a remarkably lenient sentence, allowing Mr. Corbishley to avoid any jail time whatsoever, and instead, imposing a sentence of five-year’s probation, with 150 hours of community service.
‘This sentence was exceptionally light, given the serious nature of the underlying criminal charges: arson, burglary of a motor vehicle, and aggravated arson as well as Plaintiff’s prior juvenile arson charge.’
The court filing also stated: ‘By comparison, Edward Weedo - Mr. Corbishley’s co-defendant in the case, who was indicted on the exact same three criminal charges - was sentenced to several years in prison for committing the same crime.’
Clare said that Corbishley, who acknowledges a lengthy criminal history though he now says he is rehabilitated, ‘is a career criminal with a 25-year-long criminal record that includes arson, battery, unlawful weapons possession, credit card fraud, possession of stolen property, and drug distribution.
‘It should be of grave concern to all judges and the other dedicated public officials who administer our criminal justice system that, decades after a routine criminal case, a former criminal defendant can, with no evidence, threaten to damage reputations and careers with these kinds of false and incendiary allegations.
‘Judge Napolitano has had a long and distinguished career as a lawyer, jurist, television commentator and author.’
The court filing states: ‘In 1998, Hollis pled guilty to federal money laundering charges for prostitution rings, and served an eighteen-month prison sentence.’
He was also ‘suspended from the New Jersey bar on multiple occasions, from 1982 to 1985, from 1993 to 1996, and for all of 1998.’
According to Corbishley’s lawsuit, Hollis ‘intimated that he knew exactly what had happened between Judge Napolitano and Mr. Corbishley’ two days after the alleged assault.
Hollis is alleged to have told Corbishley something to the effect that ‘we both have him now’ and ‘don't worry about anything,’ the filing states.
