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Lawsuit Accuses New York State Judge Of Demanding Forced Fellatio From Secretary

The judge alleged say it was his secretary's job to relieve his stress.

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A new federal lawsuit alleges former New York state trial judge Matthew Rosenbaum subjected his secretary to forced sex acts and other harassment between March 2005 and June 2009. Plaintiff Rebecca Klymn alleges the judge demanded she perform fellatio on him, saying it was part of her job to relieve his stress. According to the complaint, Rosenbaum also vaginally raped Klymn in her home in 2006.

As reported by Bloomberg Law, the complaint, filed in the Western District of New York, also contains other allegations of harassment:

Rosenbaum also touched Klymn, put his arm around her, made comments about her clothing, and called her demeaning names including “honey” and “sweetie,” according to the suit.

That harassment occurred daily in the presence of others and continued even after she told the judge she would no longer accede to his sexual demands, Klymn said.

She performed the sex acts under threats to her job and custody of her minor son while she was going through divorce proceedings, she said.

In addition to Rosenbaum, the lawsuit also names the New York Unified Court System, the Office of Court Administration, the Monroe County Supreme Court and a number of court officials as defendants. Klymn says she told a number of state officials about the abuse and filed three complaints with the Office of the Special Inspector General for Bias Matters starting in November 2007. The complaint says Klymn never received a response to the first two complaints, saying they were “lost” when they finally acted on the allegations in 2019. The complaint goes on to allege that an OIG investigator suggested during an interview with Klymn that she “asked for” it because of how she dressed.

The suit alleges Rosenbaum was allowed to resign to avoid disciplinary action.

Defendants have not yet commented on the allegations.

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Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, host of The Jabot podcast, and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter (@Kathryn1).

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