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Graphic Sex Tape Judge Plagued By "Demon"

Fight To Keep Tape From Publisher; Former Secretary Testifies To Murder Fears


Former Circuit Judge John B. Hagler

Former Circuit Judge John B. Hagler listens to testimony at a hearing Wednesday, Jan. 2, 2008, in Chattanooga, Tenn. (AP Photo)



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(CBS/AP) A judge confronted about a recording of his personal fantasies remarked at the time that he had been bothered by a "demon" for decades, a prosecutor testified Thursday.

Circuit Judge John B. Hagler of Cleveland, Tenn., resigned last month after District Attorney Steve Bebb and an investigator asked him about the tape he had recorded years earlier.

The case is before a Chattanooga court because Hagler is trying to stop the Chattanooga Times Free Press and other news media, including The Associated Press, from obtaining a copy of the tape.

The open records law hearing ended Thursday with Chancery Court Judge Frank Brown III saying he would make a decision "in due course" on whether it should be released to the media.

Hagler contends the tape is his private property and that the original was stolen from his office by a former secretary.

Hagler's attorney, Roger Jenne, said afterward that the hearing was fair, although Brown did not return the original recording to Hagler immediately, as requested.

"We think we will get it in the future," Jenne said.

Tom Griscom, publisher and executive editor of the Chattanooga newspaper, said he was satisfied with the two days of arguments for release of the tapes.

"I believe we made a strong case that the tape by Judge Hagler is a public record," Griscom said.

Chattanooga police who investigated the recording in late 2005 said it "sounded like someone being tortured" but they concluded it wasn't connected to a crime.

According to CBS News affiliate WDEF-TV in Chattenooga, Hagler's Attorney Roger Jenne asked, "Would you agree with me that the disclosure of the content would be damaging to Mr. Hagler and his family?"

Det. Bill Phillips says, "I guarantee it would be."

Two years later, with changes in the top echelons of the Chattanooga Police Department, Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and the FBI office in Chattanooga, the tape made its way to Bebb in Hagler's district.

"John said this had been a demon ... that bothered him for 20 years," Bebb testified. An objection stopped him from elaborating on Hagler's comment.

Last month, the Chattanooga Times Free Press learned about the recording from an unidentified source. Hagler confirmed its existence and resigned.

I thought it was evidence of a crime.

Nona Rogers,
Judge Hagler's former secretary
The tape was given to Chattanooga police in 2005 by Nona Rogers, a former Hagler secretary. She testified Thursday that she talked to police a couple of weeks after the judge fired her, saying it was a conflict of interest for her to be on his office staff while her husband was running for circuit court clerk.

She told the court that she found the tape on her desk and listened to only a little of it.

"I just was numb. I didn't know what to do. I wrestled and wrestled with it," Roger testified, her voice sometimes breaking with emotion.

She said she didn't tell anyone about it immediately and stored it in a safe at her home. She said she couldn't recall how long she had the tape before talking to police, but an investigative report indicates it might have been as long as two years.

"I was really having a difficult time, I wasn't sleeping, my nerves were shot. I got to where I couldn't stop crying," Rogers testified.

She said she visited a physician, telling him, "I thought it was evidence of a crime. He suggested I talk to someone in Chattanooga."

She said she also eventually told a co-worker about the judge's tape. "I told her not to ever be alone with him," Rogers said.

Police said they thought Hagler's tape might be linked to the unsolved 1997 shooting death of an Episcopal priest, the Rev. Charles Martin "Marty" Davis, 35.

Rogers, who has declined comment, testified that she never spoke to Hagler about the tape although she continued working for him until 2005. Rogers also said she linked the contents of the recording to the slain priest when she talked to investigators.

Davis, 35, headed a gay and lesbian ministry. He was chairman of Integrity, a gay and lesbian ministry for the Episcopal Church, and a longtime board member of Chattanooga CARES, an agency that offers assistance to AIDS patients.

Rogers testified that she believes Hagler and Davis "went to church together. He (Davis) would come in the office. Because of the contents of the tape and the male subject, he was the first person that came to mind."

Police said Wednesday that Hagler, who served three terms as president of the Tennessee Trial Judges Association and heard family court cases such as divorces and child custody disputes, is not a suspect in any investigation.

Hagler has refused to say what is on the tape other than to acknowledge it contains "graphic fantasies."

The former judge contends the leak to the media about the tape should be investigated, saying the judiciary "has been the victim of a retaliatory attack."

Members of the local bar have asked federal prosecutors to investigate how the existence of the tape became public. Police said FBI agents are asking them questions about the leak.



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