An upstate judge has resigned amid an investigation into claims that he bribed an underage girl to try to have her give sexual favors to his son, a watchdog group announced Tuesday.
George Wittlinger — who’s been the Ancram Town Court judge since 1999 — resigned on Dec. 31 after the Commission on Judicial Conduct notified him it was investigating claims that he encouraged a minor to have sex with his son.
The commission began looking into the matter after an explosive $7 million civil lawsuit was filed by the alleged victim against Wittlinger and his son Daniel Wittlinger, claiming that the judge not only pressured her into a sexual relationship with his son but offered her money to perform sexual favors on him, the Columbia County lawsuit alleges.
The case was dismissed in October after the accuser stopped appearing in the case. Her former lawyer Michael Sussman told The Post that his client “was terrified to proceed and the lawsuit had to essentially be dropped.”
Sussman said despite the fact that she stopped cooperating with him, he’s happy that “someone started investigating.”
As part of the agreement that Wittlinger signed with the commission, he says he will never take up a judgeship again and the commission closed its investigation.
William Dreyer, a lawyer for both Wittlingers, said the pair denied the allegations in the lawsuit and in the commission’s investigation and reiterated that the civil case was dismissed.
The judge “resigned in December at the age of 87,” Dreyer told The Post.
Commission administrator Robert Tembeckjian said in a statement: “Claims of sexual impropriety, particularly where they involve a judge and a minor, must be dealt with promptly as well as fairly, in order to maintain public confidence in the courts.
“Whether or not such serious allegations lead to criminal or civil proceedings, the Judicial Conduct Commission will investigate and take appropriate disciplinary action. Effectuating a judge’s permanent departure from the bench is our most significant authority, and that happened here.”
In 2020, the accuser filed suit anonymously under the initials P.T., claiming that at 15, the judge had her and her sister move into his home and provided for them while P.T. dated Daniel from 2017 through 2020.
P.T. claimed that the dad frequently got her drunk, encouraged her to sleep with his son and also once offered to pay her to “fondle” the judge. George also walked in on the teens having sex more than once, the suit alleges.
And when P.T. wanted out of the relationship, knowing she was poor, George paid her $15 an hour to be a housemaid, brought her into court to train as a clerk and encouraged her to marry Daniel, the filing alleged.
A year into the relationship with Daniel, P.T. claims that the son forced her into a threesome with another 16-year-old boy. She also claims that Daniel would regularly videotape sex with her, and he once raped her when she was blackout drunk, the filing alleges.
Wittlinger faces no further legal action at the moment since the commission closed its case and the civil suit was dismissed.