A quaint Massachusetts town becomes embroiled in a sex scandal after a mysterious ‘Mrs. X’ accuses a judge of having an affair with a much younger prosecutor.
Former New Bedford District Court Judge Douglas Darnbrough, 56, resigned from office after he was accused in poison letters of having a romantic relationship with Bristol County Assistant District Attorney Karlyn Butler. 31 years old.
“They have been on an adventure since the end of 2022,” said a letter from the anonymous writer, nicknamed Madam Howie Carr, New England radio host.
“They both went to Carmines restaurant together weekly and then went to the nearby office of a friend of hers and had sex.”
The mystery writer began sending letters to various lawyers, officials and reporters in the fall of 2023.
‘He would park his Honda Ridgeline in the parking lot and she would also park her blue Mercedes SUV in the parking lot. Many times he arrived first and waited for her. Then they would enter the building or their friend’s office to have sex.
The mystery writer stated, “They meet pretty much every Tuesday after court to have drinks and hang out in an upstairs office.”
“Sometimes she stays in her office after the court is closed,” one letter adds.
Darnbrough heard multiple cases brought by Butler. Two guilty verdicts Butler obtained in cases heard by Darnbrough have now been challenged by allegations that the judge may have shown favoritism toward his alleged prosecutor lover in the way he heard the case.
Former New Bedford District Court Judge Douglas Darnbrough, 56, resigned after anonymous letters accused him of having an affair with a younger prosecutor.
Karlyn Butler, 31, remains employed by the Bristol County District Attorney’s Office.
A venomously written damning letter submitted as part of an appeal alleging sordid sexual sessions between the judge and the youngest prosecutor whose cases he oversaw.
‘They are being placed in the same courtroom whenever possible. You make dispositions (sic) together, you do bench trials together and you do jury trials together,’ one letter said.
Public records show Darnbrough is married to a woman named Cheryl. When DailyMail.com called her, she declined to comment and DailyMail.com was unable to confirm whether the couple is still together.
Despite the alarming claims, Butler reportedly said there was nothing in the anonymous letters and remained employed at Bristol County District Attorney Thomas Quinn’s office, where she has worked since 2020.
While the sender of the letters is unknown, the Bristol District Attorney’s Office said in a Jan. 29 filing that Madam X had an “in-person confrontation” with Butler.
After the anonymous letters first surfaced, defense attorneys for two convicted men allegedly asked to see the judge’s and Butler’s cell phone records.
Darnbrough then mysteriously stopped appearing in court and officials said he was on vacation.
He was then reassigned to a court in Plymouth, where he served for three days before taking extended leave, it was reported. Public Radio.
Darnbrough then resigned in early November, saying it was for health reasons and giving up his pension and $207,855-a-year salary.
He has since opened a private law practice.
One letter stated that the judge and the prosecutor hung out in his office after hours.
Butler, pictured with his father, has worked in the Bristol District Attorney’s office since 2020.
Darnbrough stopped appearing in court shortly after the letters surfaced. He has since opened a private law practice.
The Public Counsel Services Committee requested new trials for two men, Gerson Pascual-Santana and Jonathan Rascao, who were convicted by the prosecutor in cases presided over by Dambrough.
Dambrough sentenced Pascua-Saltana to more than three years in prison after being convicted of sexually abusing his preteen stepdaughter in a case tried by Butler. He denied the charges.
An attorney for the two men, Jim Mckenna, has argued that those convictions should be overturned given the alleged relationship between the judge and prosecutor.
‘(Dambrough and Butler) coordinate their cases to be in the courtroom together,’ reads an excerpt from one of the anonymous letters included in a court file seeking to overturn Rascao’s conviction.
‘They go to the Candleworks restaurant after their tests, drink together and go up to a room and have sex. The office belongs to a close friend of hers.
One of the anonymous letters pointed to a continuance request in which the assistant district attorney drew a smiley face on the judge and wrote: ‘I have a previous case scheduled for trial in July on the same date… Thank you ! :)’
The ACLU, the New England Innocence Project and the Mass. Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers have accepted Pascua-Saltana’s appeal.
One of the anonymous letters pointed to a continuance request in which the assistant district attorney drew a smiley face on the judge.
New Bedford is a picturesque town on the banks of the Acushnet River. It is the largest city in the region.
The groups have pointed out inconsistencies in how the district attorney’s office handled the scandalous allegations: first denying that an investigation had taken place and then refusing to provide evidence for an investigation that was supposedly complete.
The civil rights group wrote that “there is no evidence that any entity within the Commonwealth has conducted any investigation into these allegations, the changing unsworn statements from the district attorney’s office are not a substitute for such evidence, and therefore , a remedy is justified.”
Ultimately, dozens of cases may have to be retried if the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court determines that Darnbrough and Butler had an affair.
The Bristol County District Attorney’s Office has not responded to multiple requests for comment.
Judge Darnbrough hung up when contacted by phone regarding this story.