Judge in rent boy scandal resigns before he was expected to be sacked
A senior circuit judge has resigned following newspaper revelations last year over his relationship with a male sex worker. He was suspended last year pending an investigation.
Judge Gerald Price QC, 60, who is married with two children, reportedly had a nine-month relationship with 25-year-old prostitute Christopher Williams, allowing him to sit in court and see confidential documents.
Williams told the News of the World that Mr Price, a senior circuit judge in Swansea, Cardiff and Carmarthen, had helped him avoid a criminal charge for being drunk on a train and had taken him on official business, staying in hotels together.
He said they had met through an escort website.
A spokesperson for the Office for Judicial Complaints said: “Gerald Price QC, a circuit judge who was appointed to the Wales Circuit in 2000, has resigned from judicial office following an investigation into allegations about his conduct originally published in the media in June 2009.
“Whilst the media reported a number of allegations against Judge Price, the judicial investigation only focused on those that had an impact on his role as a judge.
“The investigation found that his actions brought the judiciary into disrepute, rendering his position untenable.
“In the light of the investigation, the Lord Chancellor and Lord Chief Justice informed the judge in December 2009 that they
considered his behaviour merited removal from office.”
Mr Price resigned just days before the formal disciplinary process that was expected to remove him from his position was due to conclude.
