Lawyer is disbarred for 'profoundly disturbing' harassment of daughter's former college roommate
An Indiana lawyer who was responsible for the bulk of more than 7,000 emails exchanged with his daughter’s former college roommate has been disbarred for the “threatening, abusive and highly manipulative” communications.
Ronald Mark Keaton was 41 years old and married when he began a romantic relationship with the roommate, identified in the Indiana Supreme Court’s disbarment opinion (PDF) as JD. The woman ended the “tempestuous long-distance relationship” in March 2008. A campaign of harassment by Keaton followed, continuing after she began law school, the opinion said. The Indianapolis Star, the Legal Profession Blog, Indiana Lawyer and Above the Law covered the decision.
The court offers an example of one of Keaton’s “profoundly disturbing” voice mails: “(Shouting) Call me the f— back! I don’t know who the f— you think you are. But I’ll tell you what, you better f—ing call me f—ing back now! You f— with me one more time and this time you’ll really f—ing pay for it! And you need to think about it! Now you f—ing quit f—ing with me!”
Keaton also threatened suicide and carried through with a threat to post nude photos of the woman, sending them to others in emails, posting them on adult websites and posting them on his own blog, accompanied by “disparaging diatribes” about the woman, the court said. To this day, he still refuses to take down his blog, the court said.
In addition, Keaton filed three pro se lawsuits against JD and others “and later made duplicitous statements to the [disciplinary commission] in reference to those related proceedings,” the court said.
Keaton had argued his contact with JD was mutual, consensual and not unwelcome. He maintained JD had a form of mental illness, so that her entreaties for him to quit contacting her actually indicated her desire to submit to Keaton’s conduct. He also claimed his actions didn’t amount to stalking or harassment.
The Indiana Supreme Court concluded that Keaton’s “outrageous behavior falls woefully short” of ethics requirements that lawyers be of good moral character and fitness.
“Put simply, [Keaton] engaged in–and continues to engage in–a scorched earth campaign of revenge in the wake of being dumped by JD seven years ago,” the court said. “Most disturbingly, despite the entreaties of JD and several others, respondent simply has refused to take ‘no’ for an answer.”
The Indianapolis Star was unable to reach Keaton for comment.
