Retired Superior Court Judge Stephen W. Thompson/child-porn charges

[mysteriew]

But he never talked about what prosecutors contend was the true purpose of his trip to Russia in September 2002.

While there, Thompson admitted during evaluation and counseling sessions with psychiatrists, he met with a teenage boy in his St. Petersburg hotel.

He filmed himself and the boy engaging in sex acts. The tape continued for 40 minutes.

State police arrested Thompson, 59, in April 2003 and charged him with possession of child pornography, including the videotape he made and carried back with him to his home.

Jury selection in his trial -- now being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney's Office -- is scheduled to start Wednesday and could last more than a week. Jurors will be told the trial could last until mid-October.

He faces up to 25 years in prison if convicted.

Thompson, a Haddonfield native who resigned from the bench after his arrest, had been a state judge for 14 years. At the time of his arrest, he was assigned to the criminal division and was responsible for hearing cases involving violations of the state's Megan Law, which requires convicted sex offenders to register with police.

Thompson's defense attorneys, Leonard Baker and Edwin Jacobs, filed notice they would present an insanity defense.
http://www.courierpostonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050906/NEWS01/509060336/1006

[mysteriew]

Jurors who will decide the case of a former Superior Court judge charged with possession of child pornography were noticeably uncomfortable Thursday as prosecutors spent three hours displaying a series of photos seized from the defendant. They also viewed a videotape of defendant Stephen W. Thompson's 2002 sexual encounter with a teenage boy in Russia.

As the images were shown on widescreen televisions on either side of the jury box, most jurors -- who were instructed to look at each piece of evidence -- glanced at each one for only a second before looking away.

U.S. District Judge Joseph E. Irenas, who has a separate monitor on his bench, kept his head down, apparently taking notes.

Thompson, 59, of Haddon Township, looked at each image while sitting next to his attorney, Leonard S. Baker. Authorities say Thompson possessed thousands of images of young boys engaged in sexual activity.
http://www.courierpostonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050916/NEWS01/509160359/1006

[mysteriew]

A federal jury yesterday convicted a former state judge of traveling to Russia to have sex with a teenage boy but said insanity led the Vietnam veteran to acquire a collection of child pornography.
Judge Stephen Thompson was found guilty of exploitation of a child but not guilty by reason of insanity for possession of child pornography, said Greg Reinert, spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Office.

Thompson, 59, is being held at a federal detention center in Philadelphia. He is expected to be moved to a North Carolina facility, where he will undergo psychiatric evaluation, required by the insanity decision, Reinert said.
http://www.nypost.com/news/regionalnews/54455.htm