Husband of judge at centre of inquiry says he feels 'shame and stupidity' for posting nude photos

Judge's husband speaks at inquiry

Jack King testified for a second day Tuesday into the judicial inquiry deciding the fate of his wife Lori Douglas.

King testified that his wife, who was appointed to the Court of Queen’s Bench in 2005, did not know about an online ad he previously posted soliciting people to have sex with the couple in a threesome.

The ad suggested his wife was a willing participant, but King testified Tuesday she didn’t know what he had done. King said he never followed through on the ad’s proposal.

The Canadian Judicial Council is conducting the inquiry focused on Douglas.

On Monday, King admitted to taking between 100 and 150 nude photos of Douglas beginning in 1996, before she was a judge. The inquiry heard that some were posted online.

The lawyer leading the inquiry, Guy Pratte, asked King on Tuesday why he didn't black out Douglas's face to prevent her from being identified.

"I didn't and I wish I had," King answered. "It's my shame and stupidity that I didn't."

King has testified his wife was not aware of what he did with the photos.

Douglas's lawyer, Sheila Block, has asked the inquiry committee not to punish Douglas for her husband's misdeeds.

King told the council Douglas had no idea what he had done, until 2003 when former client Alex Chapman came forward, saying King had propositioned him to have sex with Douglas.

Chapman demanded $100,000 to keep quiet about the proposal and was eventually paid $25,000, the inquiry heard. Chapman, however, broke his silence and went public in 2010.

King was asked in the inquiry about his actions.

“I don’t have a sensible answer. I just did it,” said King. “It was an absolutely bizarre sexual fantasy of mine.”

"My judgment in this regard had left me - no sensible or rational answer I can give to you,” said King.

The judicial inquiry is the ninth one in Canadian history, but the first one based on a judge's personal life and not on professional misconduct.

Before Douglas' future as a judge can be decided, she will have to take to the stand to testify at the inquiry. A date for that could be held in September.

- with a report from CTV’s Caroline Barghout and files from The Canadian Press