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Judge's accuser offers details

ACCUSER

Kali Nolen: She says she met Harris in 2002, and they dated for about three years.


 
By NICOLE MARSHALL World Staff Writer
Published: 4/26/2008  12:59 AM
Last Modified: 4/26/2008  12:59 AM


A copy of the police affidavit detailing allegations against Judge Jesse Harris. www.tulsaworld.com/harrisaffidavit


The ex-girlfriend of Judge Jesse Harris says she is unafraid "to stand up to him."

A woman who is accusing a Tulsa County judge of indecent exposure said Friday that she is determined to see the case through.

Meanwhile, a police affidavit obtained by the Tulsa World revealed new details in the allegations against District Judge Jesse Harris.

Harris, 53, was charged Thursday with two felony counts of indecent exposure stemming from a March 9 incident involving his ex-girlfriend, Kali Nolen, 32, and her friend in a parking lot at an east Tulsa motel.

He was arrested, booked into the Tulsa Jail and released on his own recognizance. Harris denies the allegations.

The Tulsa World has a policy of not identifying alleged sex crime victims and the newspaper has not identified Nolen in previous stories. However, she contacted a reporter Friday and consented to her name being made public.

''I am not afraid to stand up to him,'' Nolen said of Harris. ''I have had it once and for all.''

Nolen said that she was working as a process server when she met Harris at the courthouse during a 2002 lewd molestation trial. She said that they had dinner in his chambers.

''I noticed that he had been looking at me during the trial. The last day of the trial, while the jury was deliberating, he asked me to come into his chambers and speak to him and that is when I had dinner with him,'' Nolen said.

She said they dated for about three years until they broke up and then had an off-and-on relationship.

Nolen said that Harris had called her several times during recent months.

According to the police affidavit, Nolen -- who was only identified by initials in the report -- called Harris on the morning of March 9 from an east Tulsa motel.

Police stated that Nolen was asking for legal advice for her friend and Harris said he would call her back. The friend has since been jailed on DUI charges, records show.

Harris reportedly drove up to Nolen's motel room about 11 a.m. that day and they talked.

Nolen said that she did not want to talk specifically about what happened at the motel because she does not want to jeopardize the case. However, when asked why she called him, Nolen said she was returning a call from a previous message that he left her.

''It just happened to be that I had a friend who had legal problems,'' Nolen said.

She said that Harris arrived at the motel uninvited.

''He has a history of just showing up like this,'' she said.

While Nolen was talking to Harris in the parking lot, he allegedly asked her about her friend's appearance and suggested that she and her friend engage in group sex with him, according to the police affidavit.

Though not part of the court file, the affidavit was released Friday to the Tulsa World by Washington County District Attorney Rick Esser, who has been assigned to prosecute the case.

Nolen reported to police that Harris was touching himself, and ''asked her if she missed his penis (referring to it by a pet name they shared),'' the report states.

Nolen said Friday that the pet name was ''anaconda.''

Nolen told police that Harris got out of the car and then exposed himself, and continued talking to her, according to the report. The woman's friend then exited the motel and approached the vehicle.

The second woman told police that Harris was exposed as he continued to talk to Nolen. After a few seconds, he zipped his pants back up, according to the report.

The second woman described Harris' penis to police, according to the affidavit.

The women said that they then went back to their motel room and Harris left. The women contacted police within hours to report the allegation, police records show.

During interviews with detectives, Harris reportedly said he was at the motel and spoke with the women, but denies any exposure or illicit conversation, the affidavit states.

Police talked to a member of the housekeeping staff at the motel who was working nearby. She said she saw a man matching Harris' description talking to the women in the parking lot. The man was in a vehicle matching the description of a vehicle that he owns, according to the affidavit.

The witness did not observe the exposure or hear the conversation, the affidavit states.

Tulsa County District Attorney Tim Harris recused himself from the case, and Attorney General Drew Edmondson appointed Esser as special prosecutor, according to a March 25 letter from Edmondson.

The judge has been on vacation this week, according to his attorneys.

Details from the police affidavit were first reported on the Tulsa World's Web site, www.tulsaworld.com.

State Supreme Court Chief Justice James Winchester said Friday that within the next week, he will assign a judge from outside Tulsa County to handle court proceedings related to the charges against Harris.

If the case proceeds beyond a preliminary hearing, typically another judge would be assigned to handle any trial.

Harris, who faces a two-count felony charge, is assigned to a felony caseload.

Winchester indicated that if Harris is going to be reassigned to a different docket at this time, that matter could be handled by Tulsa County Presiding District Judge Michael Gassett.

Attorneys for Harris have said he wants to continue working "in an appropriate capacity."

District Judge Gordon McAllister, who is assigned to a civil caseload, said Friday that he conferred with Gassett and is prepared to call Harris' felony docket on Monday if needed.


World staff writer Bill Braun contributed to this story.


Nicole Marshall 581-8459
nicole.marshall@tulsaworld.com

By NICOLE MARSHALL World Staff Writer

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