Judge found guilty of lying about attack outside courthouse gets 6 months
A former municipal judge found guilty of lying about being assaulted outside his Waterloo courthouse in 2013 has been sentenced to six months behind bars.
Convicted in August of insurance fraud and other charges in the Seneca County case, Roger Barto could have gotten as much as 28 months to seven years in prison, according to the Associated Press.
Barto had claimed that he was hit over the head with a toilet-tank lid and strangled outside the courthouse. District Attorney Barry Porsch accused Barto of making up the story to get access to painkillers during his medical treatment and had sought the maximum sentence. However, the DA said he wasn’t surprised Barto got less time, because Barto had already made restitution for over $41,000 initially paid by county taxpayers for his nine-day hospital stay, according to another Associated Press story and TWC News.
Defense lawyer Gary Muldoon says Barto stands by his account of the incident and intends to appeal.
WHAM also has a story.
Related coverage:
ABAJournal.com: “Judge lied about claimed toilet-lid attack outside courthouse, jury finds”
