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An Allentown' Pennsylvania man who anonymously posted online comments that a Northampton County judge believed threatened his life will not be charged with a crime, though he could have been, District Attorney John Morganelli said Monday.
Using the moniker "Montikea," George Charles, 58, this month disparaged Judge Michael Koury Jr. on the website of The Morning Call, saying he "needs to 'get clipped' one night after court's done."
At a news conference Monday, Morganelli said he concluded that the comments crossed the line and could justify the charge of terroristic threats, a misdemeanor with penalties of up to five years in prison. But he said he decided not to prosecute because Charles publicly and privately apologized for the scare to Koury and his family, and the judge decided to accept it.
"Understanding that Mr. Charles has expressed sincere regret and remorse for the language he chose, Judge Koury has indicated to me that he is not desirous of any criminal prosecution proceeding in this matter," Morganelli said.
Charles' comments were posted to an article about Koury's decision to convict a drunken-driving defendant after she was acquitted by a jury of a more serious DUI charge in the same case.
After reading the postings and becoming concerned, Koury on Feb. 10 mistakenly confronted Charles' cousin, a well-known Allentown defense lawyer, in open court about them. Days later, Koury made a public apology to the lawyer, Dennis Charles, saying he was in fear for his family's safety.
George Charles, who is on disability after a stroke, has said the comments were not serious, though he later acknowledged to The Morning Call that he regretted their tone and "shouldn't have said … what I did."
"Professional conduct? Meet me anytime [b]ehind the courthouse and I'll give Koury justice and it won't be 'professionally done,' " Charles said in another of the postings.
On Monday, Charles said he learned from the controversy, as he believes Koury did.
"We all got a lesson in humility with this," Charles said. "That was the case with me and that definitely was the case with Judge Koury."
Koury declined to comment, citing the rules of judicial conduct.
Morganelli said he agrees with Koury that the case does not need to be prosecuted. He said Koury indicated that he had no problem with Charles' criticism of his decision in the DUI trial, but was concerned about the parts of the writing that he felt were threatening.
"It is my personal belief that Mr. Charles is sincere in his remorse and regret," Morganelli said. "With that stated, however, any individual who in the future uses threatening language will come under scrutiny.
"Under different circumstances, there may be another judge or another public official or any other citizen who is the victim of these types of threats who will not be as understanding as Judge Koury has been in this matter."
In the terroristic threats law, a defendant can be found guilty if he or she threatens violence with the "intent to terrorize a person," or in "reckless disregard" of the risk of causing that terror.
Charles' comments resulted in "the exact type of harm that this statute tries to prohibit from occurring," Morganelli said.
When Koury questioned Dennis Charles in court about the postings, the judge said he needed to know who made them. The thunderstruck lawyer was appearing for hearing for a client, former Easton Area School District teacher Stephen Sullivan, who was supposed to be sentenced for child pornography.
Koury read Dennis Charles the online comments, also citing his own Internet research in which a George Charles of Allentown was linked to Montikea. Koury noted Dennis Charles' middle name is George and other apparent similarities with the poster, though he maintained he was not accusing the attorney.
Less than two hours after the courtroom drama, The Morning Call interviewed George Charles by telephone. He admitted he was Montikea and said his cousin had nothing to do with it.
When Koury apologized to Dennis Charles on Feb. 14, he also recused himself from the case involving Sullivan, who has pleaded guilty to possessing thousands of images of child pornography. President Judge F.P. Kimberly McFadden has been reassigned the matter, but a new sentencing hearing has not been scheduled.
Victor Cuvo
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