Bryant CochranROME, Ga. - One afternoon years ago, after everyone else in the office went home, Murray County Magistrate Bryant Cochran called out to his clerk, Virginia Rector.
He asked her to come to his office because his email wasn't working, Rector testified during a trial against Cochran in U.S. District Court on Wednesday afternoon. At his desk, Rector felt Cochran approach from behind, press his body against hers.
"Did he do something with his hands?" Assistant U.S. Attorney William McKinnon Jr. asked Wednesday.
"He did," she said.
"What did he do with his hands?"
"He took his hands and went into my pants."
Rector told the jury that she pulled away, but Cochran continued to fondle her. She said he slipped his hand under her shirt, under her bra. She said she pulled away again and left the office.
Cochran often harassed Rector, but she continued to work for him, she told the jury during an emotional testimony that lasted several hours Wednesday. Her voice broke. She paused to wipe away tears before answering questions. She repeatedly exhaled into the microphone, the sound of a deep thud filling the room.
She said she continued to work for Cochran because she didn't think she had a choice.
"There weren't many jobs out there," she told the jury. "I had a daughter in school. It's not right."
Cochran, who resigned from office in August 2012, faces a slew of criminal charges for his alleged behavior while in office as Murray County's magistrate. Federal prosecutors say he deprived someone of civil rights, conspired to distribute a controlled substance and intimidated a witness.
Rector was one of two former female employees who testified against Cochran on Wednesday. Prosecutors say Cochran deprived her and his secretary, Sonya Petty, of their rights -- a charge that carries a sentence of up to one year in prison per count.
Cochran is accused of sexually harassing Rector and going through Petty's cellphone without her permission. Prosecutors believe that constitutes an unreasonable search and seizure.
The trial will resume this morning when defense attorney Page Pate cross-examines Rector.
On Wednesday, Pate attempted to discredit Rector and Petty. He said both women accused Cochran of these crimes to get money.
Rector, Petty and a third employee -- a secretary named Yesenia Galvan -- filed civil lawsuits against the county and Cochran in Murray County Superior Court and in U.S. District Court in September 2012, one month after Cochran resigned from office.
The lawsuits in Superior Court were dismissed without prejudice, and U.S. District Court Judge Harold Murphy dismissed the civil lawsuit against Cochran, arguing that his actions were protected under judicial immunity. The women also settled the federal lawsuit against the county for an undisclosed amount.
On Wednesday, Rector denied Pate's assertion. She filed a lawsuit, yes -- but only because she thought she had to. Cochran resigned from office because he signed blank warrants before police officers told him their probable cause to make arrests and search property.
Rector said she thought she would face criminal charges because she was the one who physically gave the officers those warrants. She testified that attorney McCracken Poston offered to provide legal representation for free when she met with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation if she joined Petty and Galvan in the lawsuit.
"The civil suit was never an issue," she said. "It was never wanted. I just wanted protection and to keep my job."
Poston said Wednesday night that he could not discuss details of his conversations with Rector because of attorney-client privilege, but he added: "I can say she was extremely afraid of her former judge."
During Rector's testimony, Petty said that she also saw Cochran sexually harass Rector. She said Rector stood near a filing cabinet, bent over, when Cochran approached her from behind, grabbed her hips and pulled her toward his body.
Petty also said she caught Cochran going through her cellphone one day, though she wasn't surprised. A Murray County deputy once told her he saw Cochran "thumbing through" her phone while she was away.
Rector also testified that she caught Cochran looking at her cellphone several times. In May 2012, after she saw him doing it again, she sent him a string of text messages.
"What are you looking for again on my phone?"
"I told you 100 times. There's nothing there."
"You're a phone stalker."
Contact Staff Writer Tyler Jett at tjett@timesfreepress.com or at 423-757-6476.