https://www.google.com/amp/abc7ny.com/amp/judge-apologizes-admits-hes-serial-panty-stealer/3281688/
SUFFOLK COUNTY DISTRICT JUDGE APOLOGIZES, ADMITS HE'S SERIAL UNDERWEAR STEALER
EAST ISLIP, Long Island - Suffolk County District Judge Robert Cicale says he's stolen his female neighbor's underwear on several occasions. He's now facing 15 years behind bars.
Cicale was arrested on burglary charges and appeared in court Friday morning.
The judge is a married father of three young children, and is charged with sneaking into a home across the street and stealing the underwear of a 23-year-old woman who lives there with her parents.
He said that he stole the underwear upon feeling "urges."
Investigators say it happened at 9 a.m. Thursday when the young woman was alone.
Prosecutors say the young woman was sleeping, but woke up when she heard the door open. She called out, "Hello?" That's when she saw Cicale at the doorway and he turned around and ran away.
The young woman closed and locked the door and called her mother. Her mother called 911.
Police quickly responded and saw Cicale walking up to a different house and pretending to knock on the door.
They approached him because he matched the description of who the young woman described.
Prosecutors say, Cicale's story to police just "doesn't add up." They found several pairs of soiled women's underwear on him. Victim identified the items as her underwear.
The judge admitted that he went into the young woman's hamper and took the underwear...on several occasions.
He has written letter of apology to victim and also provided a written confession. However, Cicale entered a plea of "not guilty" in court.
"This is highly disturbing. This is an individual who swore to uphold the law. He violated it in a very serious way," said Timothy Sini, Suffolk County District Attorney. "The message here from both the Suffolk County Police Department and the Suffolk County District Attorney's office is that no one is above the law and we'll prosecute this case to the fullest extent of the law."
The Nassau County District Judge presided over Cicale's case and says he will receive mental health treatment.
"His reputation throughout the court is stellar," said William Wexler, Cicale's attorney. "Every judge, every lawyer respects him and we just have to see how the process plays out." Wexler went on to say that the judge's wife is standing by her husband through this process.
Cicale was ordered held on $50,000 bond.
Neighbors were shocked when they learned of the judge's arrest.
"From what I heard it's a little perverted maybe, and that never makes sense to me," said William Bloom, a neighbor.
Cicale is a graduate of St. John's Law School, a former legal aid attorney and a former Islip Town Attorney, elected to the District Criminal Court in 2016.
He knows victim from when she was an intern in the Islip Town Attorney's Office.
"He's a family man, he's always outside playing basketball with his kids," said Jay Moceri, a neighbor. "He's always jogging, he's always friendly to everybody in the neighborhood."
