U.S. District Court Judge Samuel Kent Sex Complaint Becomes Physical

GALVESTON — When Cathy McBroom complained in May that she had been sexually harassed by U.S. District Judge Samuel B. Kent, she wasn’t just recounting an off-color remark.

Rather, she described an episode that her attorney, Rusty Hardin, characterized as unwanted physical contact.

Hardin is a well-known Houston attorney who argued a case against Anna Nicole Smith and who represented Rudy Tomjanovich, Warren Moon and Scottie Pippen, to name a few.

While Hardin characterized the alleged conduct as criminal, no criminal charges have been filed against Kent and no one has indicated any are imminent.

Cathy McBroom, the one-time Galveston case manager for Kent who made the formal complaint that led to the judge's downfall, said he first attacked her in a small room about 10 feet away from co-workers when he came to work drunk. She said she didn't want to give up her job and her pension so she tried to avoid him as much as possible, while Kent told people she wanted the affair.
"Being molested and groped by a drunken giant is not my idea of an affair," McBroom said. She said she lost her marriage, her Galveston position, sleep, self-esteem and more and asked Kent be sentenced so he and others will remember it.

Donna Wilkerson, Kent's secretary, said Kent sexually and psychologically abused her starting her fifth day on the job.

"He said he hated bullies. How sad," Wilkerson said. "He's the biggest bully of them all."

She said she believes Kent is "crazy" and she fears for her family's safety.