A.G. Schneiderman Announces Jail Time, Fine For Former Village Justice Who Traded Lenient Treatment In Exchange For Sexual Favors

Delmar House Sentenced To 4 Months In Jail, 5 Years’ Probation, And $5K Fine After Admitting To Reducing Fine For Defendant In Exchange For Sexual Favors While Serving As Justice For Village Of West Carthage

Schneiderman: Public Officials Who Abuse Their Power Will Be Held Accountable

  Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman today announced that Delmar House, the former Village Justice for the Village of West Carthage Court in Jefferson County, was sentenced to four months in jail and five years’ probation, plus a $5,000 fine, after being found guilty of abusing his position as a Judge by reducing a fine for a defendant who appeared before him in exchange for sexual favors, and by paying a portion of that defendant’s fines in exchange for additional sexual favors. House previously entered guilty pleas before The Honorable Kim H. Martusewicz in Jefferson County Court, to the charges of Bribe Receiving in the Third Degree in violation of Penal Law § 200.10, a class “D” felony and Receiving a Reward for Official Misconduct in the Second Degree in violation of Penal Law § 200.25, a class “E” felony.

“The judge’s actions represent gross misconduct,” said Attorney General Schneiderman. “Today’s sentencing sends the message, loud and clear: public officials who abuse their power will be held accountable.”

House was the Village Justice for the Village of West Carthage Court from January 2008 through March 2016, when he resigned. According to filed documents and statements made in court, in or about April 2015, House, 49, of Carthage, agreed to and did reduce the fine for a defendant appearing before him in the Village of West Carthage Court for Vehicle and Traffic Law offenses, in exchange for sexual favors from that defendant.  In addition, according to documents filed in court and statements made in court, House paid a portion of that defendant’s fines in exchange for more sexual favors. 

House appeared Tuesday, May 2, 2017 before Judge Martusewicz, where he was sentenced to four months’ incarceration and five years’ probation and was ordered to pay a $5,000 fine.

The Attorney General thanks the New York State Commission on Judicial Conduct, New York State Police Investigator Joseph Maurer, and the New York State Police for their work on this matter.