CLAREDON, Ark – An Arkansas woman is opening up to cameras for the first time after accusing former Monroe County judge and attorney David Carruth of soliciting sex in exchange for help on a criminal case.
Courtney Mason, the woman accusing Carruth, said she had seen reports of her story make headlines across the state, though she was never a part of them.
“I kept seeing different news stories and everything, and I was just like you know no one’s heard from me,” Mason explained.
In January of 2023, Carruth was federally indicted on nine different charges related to the investigation. At the time, Mason was also suing Carruth in a separate case in federal court. In July, that case was dropped with the notion that it should instead be handled in state court.
When FOX 16 News first heard about the accusations, Carruth told investigative reporter Mitch McCoy that the woman involved was trying to blackmail him in a case involving her boyfriend.
Mason said that the claim from the former judge is far from the truth.
According to court records, Mason allegedly visited Carruth’s office in April of 2022 to finish some outstanding paperwork on a separate case. While she was there, court records indicate that she asked Carruth if he could help her with her boyfriend’s pending criminal case.
Mason alleges Carruth then questioned her ‘what she had of equal or greater value to offer’ in exchange.
“The only thing I could think of was, maybe some crimes that I had potentially committed,” Mason recalled telling him.
Mason said she was instructed to write down the crimes on a piece of paper and bring it back to Carruth’s office the following week. She said she walked in the door that day with a strange feeling.
“That’s when he totally switched it up on me and asked me how I felt about sex with him,” Mason said, adding that she declined the alleged offer.
Mason went on to say Carruth then allegedly asked her to take sexual photos for him, though she said she declined that proposition as well.
In court documents, Carruth claims it was Mason who led the conversation, asking him to consider her list of crimes as payment. In Carruth’s allegations, there was no mention of any sexual exchanges or offers.
FOX 16 News reached out to Carruth and his attorneys. The following is their response:
“It is appropriate that this case be tried in the courtroom and not in the media. We will be defending Mr Carruth vigorously at trial. We believe that when the jury hears all the facts, the jury will exonerate Mr. Carruth.”
Robert (Robby) Golden & Jeff Rosenzweig
The federal charges against Carruth are still pending. A court date has been set for February of 2024, and his attorneys say Carruth is entering a plea of not guilty.
