Appeals court says judge’s ‘serial harem’ remark was proper

MADISON, Wis. (AP) - A judge acted within his powers when he accused a man of maintaining a harem during a domestic violence sentencing hearing two years ago, a state appeals court ruled Wednesday.

Jamal Thames, of Milwaukee, was charged in Kenosha County in 2013 with multiple counts in connection with allegations that he beat his girlfriend. He eventually pleaded guilty to felony false imprisonment and Judge Bruce Schroeder sentenced him to six years in prison in January 2015.

Thames argued to the 2nd District Court of Appeals that the sentence was unduly harsh and asked the court to scale it back to two years behind bars.

Thames, now 46, contended that the judge improperly accused him of running a “serial harem” and failing to pay $40,000 in child support when he had actually fathered only two children with two different women 25 years earlier. He also maintained the judge confused the details of two 1990 convictions for sexually assaulting a 15 year-old girl and stabbing two women.

The appeals court rejected his arguments. The court found that Thames actually has eight children by four different women and the judge was within his rights to consider Thames’ character.

“We read the court’s comment not as pointing out a decades-old transgression but as a proper recognition of Thames’ continued abdication of his responsibility to support and parent the children he helped bring into the world,” the ruling said.

As for confusing the details of the two other cases, Thames corrected the judge about the circumstances of his previous crimes during the sentencing hearing, the court found. Mixing up the details of the cases didn’t matter anyway because the judge was trying to point out Thames is a danger to society, the court concluded.

The court also upheld Schroeder’s order requiring Thames to pay $7,825 to cover his girlfriend’s medical bills.

Thames’ attorney, Andrew Jarmuz, didn’t immediately respond to an email seeking comment.

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