Sex crimes judge pleads guilty to obstructing justice
US District Judge Samuel Kent’s guilty plea came as jury selection in his trial was set to begin. Kent pleaded guilty to one count of obstruction of justice yesterday and retired from the bench, avoiding a trial on that charge and five others accusing him of sexually abusing two female employees.
The jurist spoke barely above a whisper as he pleaded guilty to lying to a judicial committee investigating the sex-related charges. He and his lawyer, Dick DeGeurin, told the presiding judge that he was taking medication for depression and anxiety as well as diabetes, and was under the care of both a psychiatrist and a psychologist.
