Former Indiana judge charged in sexual misconduct case
A former small claims court judge was caught on camera attempting to solicit sex acts from an inmate he was representing, court documents say.
Clark G. Rehme, an attorney in Indianapolis, has been charged with three counts of sexual misconduct and one count of official misconduct on allegations he had two female inmates expose themselves and perform sexual acts on him in an interview room at the Shelby County Jail, a probable cause affidavit states.
Shelby County Sheriff's Department officials began investigating Rehme after an inmate told a jail officer that she did not want to be in a room with her court-appointed attorney. The inmate said the attorney, identified as Rehme, had her show him her breasts and perform sex acts on him while he exposed himself to her, court documents state.
Investigators interviewed the inmate, who said Rehme had made her do these things on two occasions. Court documents state the inmate went along with the behavior because she believed she would get help on her case.
After one of the meetings with Rehme, the inmate provided an unwashed shirt to detectives. Shelby County officials examined the shirt, which showed a positive indication of bodily fluid, court documents state. The shirt was sent for further DNA testing.
The inmate also told detectives that she wasn't the only female prisoner with whom Rehme had inappropriate sexual discussions, according to the documents.
Detectives interviewed the second inmate with whom Rehme allegedly had sexual conversations. The second inmate said Rehme had asked for her bra size and discussed sex acts he had done with other women, including his wife. Documents also state that Rehme told the inmate that he craved sex much the same way the inmate craved drugs.
In an attempt to observe Rehme on camera acting inappropriately, both women agreed to meet with him again, according to the probable cause affidavit.
When Rehme met with the second inmate, investigators watched as he asked the woman to pull up her shirt. Rehme told her he wanted to see it all, then exposed himself and asked the woman to move closer, court documents say. Detectives asked jail officers to intervene when they saw Rehme start to touch the woman, documents state.
Rehme is listed as an attorney with the association of lawyers Brown Tompkins Lory and Mastrian, but one of the group's attorney's, Patrick Mastrian, tells The Indianapolis Star that Rehme has not been a part of the association since the end of last year.
"We haven't had any contact with Mr. Rehme since he left here," Mastrian said in an email.
According to the Indiana Roll of Attorneys, Mr. Rehme is with the firm of Mark Sullivan and Associates. The Star contacted the firm and a spokeswoman said Mr. Rehme is no longer an associate, but could not confirm when he had been let go. Further inquiry has been sent to the firm for confirmation on Rehme's termination.
Rehme was appointed a small claims court judge in Lawrence Township in November 2011 but was not elected in 2014 and vacated his seat in December.
No contact orders have been issued for both of Rehme's clients.
Attorney John Tompkins, who represents Mr. Rehme, said he hopes people "put it in context and wait to hear the whole story once the whole story has had a chance to develop."
Tompkins said an automatic plea of "not guilty" has been entered on behalf of Rehme, and "that is the absolute state of the defense at this point and we will be proceeding with our own investigation."
Call Star reporter Michael Anthony Adams at (317) 444-6123. Follow him on Twitter: @MichaelAdams317.