Lawyer suspended after lewd act is caught on courthouse camera

A lawyer in the US has been suspended after he was caught on courthouse camera in a lewd act with a client.

Brian W. Benbow was suspended by the Ohio Supreme Court for two years, with one year stayed, for violating professional conduct rules for lawyers.

Benbow had admitted to misrepresenting the nature of his relationship with his former client. Before the incident in December 2014 at the Coshocton County Courthouse, the two had already exchanged texts and photos of a sexual nature.

The suspended lawyer also admitted to misrepresenting the nature of the incident, when he accompanied the former client for a child-visitation matter at the courthouse.

While inside a camera-equipped conference room waiting for a magistrate to complete orders, Benbow placed his files and coat over his lap. Together, they placed the woman’s hand under his coat and she fondled Benbow for eight minutes, only stopping when Benbow received a phone call.

The two-year suspension is needed “because Benbow not only engaged in an inappropriate sexual relationship with a client but also engaged in a course of dishonest conduct involving multiple false denials and lies under oath,” the state supreme court said.

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