Circuit Court Judge Michael Thornsbury of Mingo County, who served as circuit judge since 1997, has been accused of having an affair with his secretary. However, the drama doesn’t end here. Judge Thornsbury has also been accused of trying to imprison his secretary’s husband by trying to frame him for years. Allegations against the Judge include that Thornsbury hired a friend to plant drugs on the husband and then have him picked up by state troopers. Apparently, the friend ended up backing out. Judge Thornsbury has been accused of trying to manipulate the system by trying to use his position as leverage to incur criminal charges against his lover’s husband.
Additionally, the husband was reportedly victimized in an armed assault when standing outside a convenience store. Other allegations of the Judge’s foul play include pressuring prosecutors to charge the husband as the perpetrator of the armed assault and attempts to imprison the husband for this incident for longer than six months. Thornsbury had a state trooper arrest the husband on grand larceny charges once, but the case against the husband halted when the prejudicial relationship between the Judge and the foreman of the grand jury was leaked to the public. Thornsbury was charged with two counts of conspiracy.
The suspended Judge has since pleaded guilty to conspiracy and subsequently stepped down from his position. In exchange for pleading guilty, Prosecutors said they would dismiss the charges against Thornsbury in a separate case where he allegedly attempted to frame his former secretary’s husband. Thornsbury has consented to disbarment and will face sentencing in January; he could end up spending twenty years in prison and/or end up paying $250,000 in fines.
