A Long Island judge was removed from the bench and is facing 15 years in prison after admitting to repeatedly breaking into his neighbor's home to steal her used underwear.
Suffolk County District Judge Robert Cicale, a married father of three children, confessed to police that he broke into his 23-year-old neighbor's home and stole her panties, WABC-TV reported. In a written letter of confession to police as well as an apology to the victim, Cicale detailed how he would enter her home and steal used panties from a laundry hamper. He claims to have entered her home and stolen underwear on several occasions due to "urges."
Cicale was arrested after a 9 a.m. Thursday incident in which the 23-year-old woman awoke to a strange sound in her home, called out "hello" and found Cicale standing in her doorway. Police said he turned around and ran outside as the victim closed and locked the door to dial 911. Police responding to the scene said they saw Cicale walk up to another residence and pretend to knock on their door.
"This is highly disturbing," Suffolk County District Attorney Tim Sini said. "This is an individual who swore to uphold the law. He violated it in a very serious way. 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."
A judge from neighboring Nassau County in Long Island has been brought in to preside over the case in order to avoid any conflict of interest. Cicale is expected to receive some form of mental health treatment.
"His reputation throughout the court is stellar," defense attorney William Wexler said. "Every judge, every lawyer respects him, and we just have to see how the process plays out."
Cicale is being held on $50,000 bond and his wife is standing by his side throughout the process, Wexler added. His neighbors told WABC-TV they are baffled that their seemingly normal neighbor was into such "perverted" acts.
"From what I heard, it's a little perverted maybe," neighbor William Bloom said. "And that never makes sense to me."
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