Rumors that a New Bedford judge had a sexual relationship with a prosecutor while trying her cases have been dismissed as not credible by an investigator after an inquiry ordered by Massachusetts’ highest court.
The investigation explored allegations raised in a flurry of salacious letters that swept through Massachusetts’ court system in fall 2023. The letters, penned by an anonymous sender, accused the New Bedford District Court’s presiding judge, Douglas Darnbrough, of assigning himself to his alleged lover’s criminal cases, and throwing cases in her favor.
In a report unsealed on Thursday, Special Master Ernest Sarason said Darnbrough and the prosecutor, Bristol County Assistant District Attorney Karlyn Butler, “did not engage in a romantic, emotional, sexual, or otherwise inappropriate relationship,” and that Darnbrough “did not exhibit bias or favoritism” towards her.
The release of the report finally offers some answers after years of courthouse speculation about what, if anything, really occurred.
The anonymous letters have since sparked appeals cases, and Darnbrough stopped working as a judge in New Bedford almost immediately after their appearance. A court spokesperson, Jennifer Donahue, initially said that Darnbrough was on vacation. He soon resigned, citing health problems.
During his absence, the special master’s report revealed that Darnbrough was secretly facing discipline for “unprofessional conduct that allowed for the perception of impropriety.”
Lower court investigators found that Darnbrough drank with Butler several times at bars in group settings, including her surprise birthday party, and admitted to deleting any text messages they may have exchanged.
The special master noted that the lower court investigator “regretted not asking to look at ADA Butler’s phone” during the initial investigation. Butler handed her phone in as part of the higher court’s investigation more than a year after Darnbrough did.
Ultimately, neither the lower court’s investigation nor the higher court’s inquiry more than a year later turned up any evidence of a romantic or sexual relationship.
The Bristol County District Attorney’s Office and the Committee for Public Counsel Services, the state’s public defender agency, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
In various filings, the district attorney’s office has argued the anonymous letters were lies concocted by a “harasser” seeking to sabotage Butler’s career.
James McKenna, whose client Gerson Pascual-Santana appealed a conviction Butler secured in Darnbrough’s courtroom, said the case is not over yet.
In Thursday’s hearing before Justice Serge Georges Jr., McKenna argued the constraints of the special master’s inquiry prevented him from examining the details of Darnbrough’s resignation, the discrepancies between data obtained from the phones of Darnbrough and Butler, and their testimony before the special master.
McKenna said he plans to file an additional motion for discovery in the New Bedford District Court. His appeal to the Supreme Judicial Court requesting a new trial for Pascual-Santana will remain pending while that plays out, he said.
Darnbrough, who cited health problems in his resignation letter, continues to appear in court in Bristol County as a defense attorney now. His lawyer did not respond to a request for comment.
An attorney for Karlyn Butler declined to comment.
