West Virginia Judge Michael Thornsbury faces two counts of federal conspiracy charges after trying to frame an innocent man for crimes he did not commit.
Thornsbury allegedly started the campaign against his secretary’s husband after she ended their affair.
"Judge Thornsbury set off on a campaign to persecute his secretary's husband, his romantic rival. In the process he corrupted the system of Justice in Mingo County for his own nefarious purposes," U.S. Attorney Booth Goodwin said, CNN reports.
Thornsbury’s law license has been suspended, and a different judge will take over his cases, the Associated Press reports. The Judge has also been suspended without pay from his job.
Thornsbury is accused of trying to frame Robert Woodruff for three separate crimes. The cases against Woodruff have since been dismissed.
"My client should never have been placed under the stress of being charged criminally […] nor should he have spent time in jail for crimes he did not commit,” Mike Callaghan, Woodruff’s attorney, told the Associated Press .
The Woodruffs have declined to publicly comment on the case.
"I represent both RW and KW as they begin the process of putting their lives back together and seek their own justice. At this time, my clients are unwilling to make any public statements or do any interviews," Callahan told CNN .