Judge Accused Of Making Sexual Remarks About Lawyer Reassigned

CHICAGO, IL — A Cook County judge has been reassigned to administrative duties after allegations that he used crude and sexually suggestive language about a prosecutor, according to the Chicago Tribune. A complaint claims that Judge Mauricio Araujo, 53, called a female prosecutor "a bitch" and suggested he may have had sex with her. In one exchange, Araujo is accused of expressing anger at the prosecutor's failure to say hello to him, saying, "maybe it's because I didn't have sex with her or maybe it's because I did have sex with her."

State's Attorney Kimberly Foxx was made aware of the allegations and sent the complaint to Judge LeRoy Martin, Araujo's boss, on Sept. 13. The incident happened Sept. 11 and allegedly stemmed from Araujo being upset that the prosecutor didn't acknowledge him.

The prosecutor and Araujo attended law school together about 25 years ago, where she claims he made "unwanted sexual advances," the complaint says."To this day," the complaint says, the prosecutor "recalls in detail one of the incidents because of the particularly crude nature of Araujo's conduct."

The complaint, obtained by the Tribune and redacted to remove the names of the prosecutor and other witnesses, says she and Araujo didn't have any interactions between law school and now the 26th Street, where they now both work.

A Spanish-speaking witness overheard Araujo speaking to his clerk in Spanish, claiming he said something to the effect of "she (the prosecutor) walked in and didn't give me any congrats or acknowledge me. She acted like she didn't know who I was.

"You think you went to f------ law school with someone and you would think she would say hi to you," he said of the prosecutor, also calling her "a bitch," according to the witness' recollection.

When the Tribune asked Araujo about the allegation, he said he “did not call her bitch. I do not believe I did.”

The person Araujo allegedly made the comment to claims they didn't quite know how to react at first, and jokingly told the judge "maybe she didn't recognize you in your robe."

"Our law school class had only about 50 people and she can't say hi to me," he said, according to the witness. "Well, maybe it's because I didn't have sex with her or maybe it's because I did have sex with her."

The witness was "uncomfortable" with the interaction and reported it.

See the full memo here.

Amid the allegations in the complaint, Judge Martin ordered Araujo removed from court duty, not giving a reason for the reassignment.

The Tribune published their article on Tuesday. Later, Chief Judge Timothy Evans announced nearly 3,000 court system employees, including nearly 400 judges, would take sexual harassment training in October.

The allegations against Araujo come amid accusations from several women against another high-profile judge. The sexual misconduct allegations against Brett Kavanaugh are delaying his Supreme Court confirmation process.

See more:

• Third Woman Accuses Brett Kavanaugh Of Sex Abuse, Attorney Claims
• Brett Kavanaugh Spiked Drinks And Gang-Raped Girls: New Accuser

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