AVALON — The state’s top court took action earlier this year to make sure a former Superior Court Judge serving time in federal prison for sex crimes can never practice law again.
According to the state Office of Attorney Ethics quarterly discipline report released Monday, May 18, Stephen W. Thompson, 62, of Avalon and Haddon Township, was disbarred by the New Jersey Supreme Court on Jan. 27 after his case was heard on Jan. 20.
Thompson, who was admitted to the bar in 1975, was temporarily suspended on Nov. 7, 2005 pending the outcome of federal criminal proceedings against him for traveling to Russia to engage in sexual relations with a teenage boy for the purpose of videotaping the act and transporting the tape back to the United States.
Thompson had been a judge in Camden County for 14 years before resigning in 2003.
A raid of Thompson’s homes in April 2003 produced child pornography including an incriminating videotape of Thompson engaged in sexual relations with a boy of between 13 and 16 years of age.
Thompson’s defense suggested that his pedophilic tendencies are a result of traumatic injuries, including the loss of a leg and genital mutilation, he suffered as a soldier in the Vietnam War. Thompson received a Purple Heart medal for his injuries.
In 2006, Thompson was sentenced to 120 months in federal prison and fined $25,000 for his crimes.
On Oct. 21, 2008, a motion was made to the state Supreme Court to disbar Thompson.
Thompson is currently serving his the remainder of his sentence at the Federal Correctional Institution in Forrest City in eastern Arkansas.
Contact Hart at (609) 886-8600 Ext 35 or at: jhart@cmcherald.com
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