Bryant Cochran sentenced to 5 years for planting drugs after woman turned down his advances

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Murray County chief magistrate judge Bryant Cochran was sentenced to five years in prison on Wednesday
Cochran, 45, made sexual advances toward Angela Garmley whom he met with in 2012 during an assault case in which she was the victim
He offered to rule in her favor in exchange for sex and told her he needed a mistress and asked her is she liked oral sex
After Garmley turned Cochran down he hired someone to plant meth in her car and she was arrested
Cochran was convicted of six federal crimes last December relating to a number of court employees including going through women's phones

By Alexandra Klausner For Dailymail.com and Associated Press

Published: 19:57 EST, 8 July 2015 | Updated: 01:38 EST, 9 July 2015

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Abused his power: Bryant Cochran was sentenced to five years in prison for framing a woman who turned down his sexual advances

Federal prosecutors say a former northwest Georgia judge has been sentenced after arranging the false arrest of a woman who turned down his sexual advances.

Authorities said on Wednesday that former Murray County chief magistrate judge Bryant Cochran was sentenced to five years in prison.

He was convicted of conspiracy, deprivation of rights and tampering with a witness in December of 2014.

Prosecutors say 45-year-old Cochran made sexual advances toward Angela Garmley whom he met with in 2012 to discuss an assault case in which she was the victim and offered to rule in her favor in exchange for sex.

Garmley told the court last year that in 2012 Cochran said he needed a mistress and asked whether she liked oral sex

They spoke and text messaged each other for about a week.

Months later, Garmley said, Cochran told her husband she had flirted with him.

Joe Garmley reported the relationship to the Judicial Qualifications Commission and local media outlets in July 2012.

Investigators say the woman turned Cochran down and in 2012 the judge conspired with a man who rented property from him to plant drugs in her car and with his cousin, a captain in the local sheriff's department, to have her arrested.

Cochran convinced Clifford Joyce, to plant drugs in the victim's car, reports 11 Alive.

Joyce placed a tin with five packets of methamphetamine under the woman's fender.

Murray County Sheriff's Deputy Joshua Greeson pulled over the victim on August 14 in 2012 but he didn't find the drugs after searching her car for 10 minutes with other officers.

When Greeson was unable to find the drugs, Murray County Capt. Michael Henderson called Cochran, who told him to check under her car. Henderson passed the tip to Greeson, who found the meth. The police tip of where to find the drugs was recorded by police dashcam video.

All charges against Garmley were dropped 10 days after her arrest in August of 2012 when the video made it clear that she was framed.

Clifford Joyce, who planted the drugs, was sentenced to 18 months in prison for conspiring to distribute a controlled substance in December of 2013.

Angela Garmley told the court last year that Cochran said he needed a mistress and asked whether she liked oral sex. Joyce was sentenced to 18 months in prison for conspiring to distribute a controlled substance in December of 2013.

Cochran was convicted of six federal crimes last December relating to a number of court employees in addition to Garmley.

The charges included illegally searching through another woman's phone and asking a childhood friend to lie to investigators on his behalf. He was also accused of sexual harrasment.

Virginia Rector, Cochran’s former clerk, told the jury that she feared working for the former magistrate and claimed he sexually harassed her years.

But she didn’t report the crime until after he resigned.

During a hearing on December 3, she said: 'He had a lot of friends in the county. I would get fired and nobody would know. … It’s not right. It’s not fair.'