Feds Charge New Texas Judge in Sex & Bribes Case
A Texas judge who has only been on the bench since January is now facing federal charges concerning the sex and bribes the FBI says he sought from defendants appearing before him in felony cases in El Paso.
District Judge Manuel Barraza, 53, is facing a four-count indictment that includes charges of mail fraud, wire fraud and lying to a federal agent, reports the Dallas Morning News.
Arrested at his home yesterday morning, he didn’t enter a plea during a brief federal court hearing yesterday afternoon and is scheduled to be arraigned next week. He is currently released on $10,000 bond.
According to the indictment, an FBI agent working undercover and posing as a defendant in the judge’s courtroom is among those Barraza allegedly solicited for sex, the newspaper reports.
The State Commission on Judicial Conduct has now suspended Barraza from the bench, without pay, reports KVIA, an ABC affiliate.
He denies that he used his position to solicit sex and money from defendants, the station writes on its website, and hopes to resume his seat on the bench soon.
Local lawyers said they were amazed at the news of the charges against Barraza, and vouched for the judge’s good reputation in the community.
“I have nothing to say but good things about Judge Barraza” says attorney Teresa Caballero, who came to the federal courthouse Thursday in his support. “He’s much loved in the legal community here—and that’s for his fairness,” she tells KVIA.
“I’ve been with him in court and he’s a very good lawyer and he knows what he’s doing. I know him to be a fine legal scholar and I know him to be a fine person,” attorney Joseph “Sib” Abraham tells the El Paso Times. “The charges, of course, are only charges, and I don’t know the facts. All I can tell you is I know the judge and I know him to be a good person.”
