A former Galveston County judge has been charged with posting online ads indicating an ex-girlfriend, and a woman who had spurned his advances, were available for sexual services for pay. The controversial ex-judge has been arrested on two counts of felony online impersonation.
Christopher Michael Dupuy, a former county court-at-law judge in Galveston County, Texas, has a colored ethical history both before, and while serving on the bench.
The ex-judge was barred from office after he plead guilty in 2013 to abuse of official capacity and perjury. He resigned from his judicial office.
An affidavit for a search warrant in connection with the arrest for online impersonation said the sexual advertisement “gave the clear impression that the poster was offering sexual services in exchange for money.” The deputy who swore to the affidavit stated “This was very apparent through statements on the advertisement such as, ‘VERY FETISH FRIENDLY’ and ‘guarantee you full satisfaction.’”
The caption for one of the advertisements read, “Looking for a sexy nurse?”
Ads were placed on Backpage.com, an international online service that offers classifieds for events, products, real estate, vacation rentals, cleaning services, dating and adult services, and other things.
The categories of adult services listed on the website include escorts, body rubs, strippers and strip clubs, “dom and fetish,” “ts” (transexual), male escorts, phone and websites, and “adult jobs.”
Both victims (called “complainants”) told peace officers they did not give anyone permission to post an ad or otherwise use their persona for the ads. Both said they believed Dupuy had created the fraudulent ads.
A search warrant signed by a judge gave officers the authority to search Dupuy’s home and seize all evidence found, including cell phone and computer records. It also gave the authority to conduct forensic examinations on these and other items.
The warrant listed the former judge’s address as a one bedroom/one bathroom apartment in League City, Texas.
The affidavit and the search warrant appears below but the victims’ names have been redacted for their privacy.
The second ad purchased contained three photographs of a female. Two of the photos showed her face, and one showed her breasts with her face cropped out of the photo.
This complainant told officers the photos of her breasts were not available in the public domain and recognized it as a photo she had sent Dupuy when they were dating. She told officers she ended a relationship with Dupuy in August 2014, and he has been harassing her ever since.
The other victim said she had been receiving numerous phone calls and texts from unknown numbers. During these calls, she discovered that her persona had been used in an advertisement on www.backpage.com. She located the ad and saw that it contained multiple photographs that had been copied from her Facebook postings. The advertisement listed her telephone number, the counties near where she lived, and asked for a fee of $70 an hour.
This victim had hired Dupuy to represent her in a divorce and during his legal representation of her he stated he wanted to have a relationship with her but she declined. After being spurned, Dupuy became angry and made comments about her on her Facebook page. He also copied photos from her Facebook page and sent them to her with derogatory remarks about the photos. She told peace officers that Dupuy’s behavior towards her has been aggressive.
A law enforcement investigation revealed that one of the advertisements was created from a customer named “Don Tequilla” at email address dontequila1900@hotmail.com. Investigators found this to be the screen name on a Facebook page where negative information about Dupuy is anonymously posted.
The ads were paid with a credit card gift card which had not been registered to anyone. The IP address used to purchase the gift card could not be traced because it had been rerouted through Germany and Venezuela and the records had been destroyed. The IP address used when the email address was created, was traced to Dupuy after a grand jury subpoena was obtained for the subscriber.
Dupuy’s bond has been set at $600,000.
Dupuy was elected in 2010 after he ran against a judge who had presided over his divorce. At the time he won, he was being sued in two legal malpractice suits associated with his conduct as an attorney. He had also filed for his second bankruptcy. Bankruptcy is frequently used to delay litigation and get out of judgments.
After he was elected, he fired a court clerk who according to The Daily News of Galveston County, claimed all she did was be nice to one of the attorneys who had accused the judge of judicial misconduct.
In May 2013, civil and criminal cases were filed against Dupuy by the Office of the Texas Attorney General.
In November of 2014, the Texas State Commission on Judicial Conduct publicly reprimanded the scandalous former judge and barred him from ever holding office.
As reported by The Daily News, the Commission concluded that Dupuy failed to comply with the law and “engaged in willful persistent conduct that was clearly inconsistent with the proper performance of his judicial duties.” The newspaper also reported that:
[T]he commission cited Dupuy’s use of his position as a judge to bully, retaliate against and punish four attorneys who had filed motions to recuse, grievances, criminal complaints and removal actions against him. The commission also cited several instances when Dupuy lied while under oath, including during a protective order hearing called after alleged threats made against his ex-wife at which he lied about the purchase of a device made to suppress the sound of a gunshot.
At the time of his arrest this week, Dupuy was on two years deferred adjudication for his 2013 charges and still had his license to practice law.
The Daily News reported that Galveston County Sheriff Henry Trochessett said that Dupuy was being kept in isolation in a jail cell “for his own protection.” He continued, “there may be some people in the jail he put there.”
The Galveston newspaper also reported that during the week prior to his arrest for placing the ads, Dupuy had been ordered to wear an ankle-bracelet so he could be monitored. He had also been ordered to seek mental counseling and pay his ex-wife’s attorney’s fees. His concealed handgun license was also suspended.
Although not specifically applicable to Dupuy’s behavior, the 84th Texas Legislature enacted a “Revenge Porn” bill. Governor Greg Abbott signed it into law on June 17, 2015.
Senate Bill 1135 provides for civil and criminal penalties for an individual to disseminate sexually explicit images of a person without that person’s consent, including images of another engaging in sexual conduct. An offense under this new statute, effective September 1, 2015, is a state jail felony.
Lana Shadwick is a contributing writer and legal analyst for Breitbart Texas. She has served as a prosecutor and an associate court judge. Follow her on Twitter@LanaShadwick2
Search Warrant and Affidavit.pdf via Houston Chronicle’s Justin Russell: