Former US judge accused of having sex with inmates
Published:Monday | October 5, 2009 | 1:16 PM
The trial of a former US judge accused of having sexual relations with male inmates in exchange for leniency is set to start in Mobile, Alabama.
Forty-eight-year-old Herman Thomas has denied the charges, which include sodomy, kidnapping, extortion, sex abuse and assault.
Up to 15 current and former prisoners are set to testify against Thomas at the jury trial.
He was once the Democratic Party\'s choice to be the first black federal judge in south Alabama.
Mr Thomas resigned as a judge in 2007, following allegations that he spanked inmates in his private office at the county courthouse with a paddle.
If he’s convicted of the charges of kidnapping, he could face a sentence of life in prison.
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, a civil rights organisation, has said that Mr Thomas is being prosecuted because of his race.
The trial is set to last several weeks.