Posted Apr 20, 2010 6:32 PM CDT
By Martha Neil

For years, an Oregon justice of the peace allegedly commented to clerks and parties in cases at Central Lane Justice Court about their sex lives, among other objectionable topics.

But it wasn't until five female clerks complained together to Lane County officials in December that an investigation began into the conduct of Cynthia Sinclair, 58, who has held the seat on the bench for 13 years, according to the Eugene Register-Guard.

At one point, a clerk allegedly argued, to no avail, about typing a Sinclair letter to a truant child that reportedly stated “any man with a penis will do a sixteen-year-old girl.” Current and former clerks also contended that Sinclair commented to them about vibrator use, masturbation and dancing on tables.

Sinclair, who is not a lawyer, has announced her resignation after a three-month investigation confirmed that she had made offensive comments. It is to take effect on July 1, so she will continue to draw her salary of a little over $50,000 annually until then.

In a 10-page letter, she denied any sexual harassment. Sinclair also said she never “hit on” employees or posted “nudie” photos, and argued that her right of free speech trumped "sexual harassment claims based solely on verbal insult, pictorial or literary matter.”