UPDATE:Broome Family Court Judge Richard Miller should be removed from office, NY Commission says

Broome County Family Court Judge Richard Miller has been accused of sexual harassment behaviors involving members of his staff, according to a lawsuit filed Friday in federal court.

The lawsuit alleges a "toxic environment" from the judge, who was elected in 2014, that spanned from 2015 to the summer of 2017. It was filed by Rachelle Gallagher and Mark Kachadourian, who were respectively listed as Miller's secretary and court attorney. The New York State Unified Court System was also named as a defendant in the civil action.

Among the accusations against Miller, identified in Friday's lawsuit:

Forcing the plaintiffs (Gallagher and Kachadourian) to view pornography that included a nude photo of a co-worker.

Making sexual demands.

Using graphic and crude descriptions of sexual acts

Asking Gallagher to engage in sex acts with an (unnamed) elected official to curry political favor.

Attempts to reach the Unified Court System and Miller for comment about the lawsuit late Friday were unsuccessful.

The lawsuit claims the sexual harassment behaviors began in January 2015, when Miller's accusers started their jobs in Broome County Family Court following his election as judge.

Miller allegedly made "sexually inappropriate" comments about other Family Court employees between 2015 and 2017, according to the lawsuit.

READ MORE: The lawsuit is embedded at the end of this article

"Judge Miller regularly engaged in loud, graphic sexual discussions while in Plaintiffs' presence at work," Albany-based attorney William Dreyer said in the lawsuit.

The attorney continued: "Judge Miller intentionally conducted these conversations in a loud and blatant manner in order to subject Plaintiffs to the graphic and obscene sexual content of the discussions."

In another incident, which allegedly happened in April 2017, Miller is accused of showing Kachadourian a nude photo of a woman — she wasn't named in the lawsuit — on his cellphone. Other similar encounters had taken place in 2015 and 2016, the lawsuit said.

The judge also is alleged to have made comments about satisfying his own sexual desires, according to the lawsuit, and demanded Gallagher satisfy his sexual needs.

"Mr. Gallagher and Mr. Kachadourian were embarrassed, humiliated and appalled by Judge Miller's behavior and repeatedly made it clear that his harassment and abuse were not appreciated or welcomed," Dreyer said in the lawsuit. "However, their efforts went unheeded, and the harassment and abuse continued."

The lawsuit also accuses Miller of making threats against Gallagher and Kachadourian if the harassment behaviors were reported.

In the summer of 2017, Miller was removed from the bench and reassigned to other duties. The Unified Court System investigated and did not release details when asked by the Press & Sun-Bulletin/pressconnects.com at the time.

The lawsuit claims Gallagher and Kachadourian were subjected to "retaliatory acts" after the state began investigating Miller, including reductions of their job responsibilities and being subjected to other threats.

What the lawsuit seeks

The lawsuit seeks "compensatory and punitive damages" in an unspecified amount against the defendants. It accuses them of failing to adequately respond to the complaints.

Gallagher and Kachadourian reported the alleged harassment in December 2015, according to the lawsuit, but the Unified Court System allegedly tried to downplay the judge's actions.

At least 50 separate complaints were made to the Chief Clerk of the Unified Court System between 2015 and June 2017, Dreyer said in the lawsuit.

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Judge was previously censured

Miller, while serving as a Town of Union justice, was censured by the state Commission on Judicial Conduct in 2002.

He was accused of violating state judicial ethics codes by representing people in his private law practice who had other cases pass through the town court.

At the time, the commission said Miller's conduct "showed insensitivity and inattention to his ethical responsibilities and, in particular, to the special ethical obligations of judges who are permitted to practice law."

Censure is a form of public punishment, which is just short of removal from the bench. The censure didn't affect Miller's caseload at the time, and he wasn't fined.

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Federal lawsuit against Judge Richard Miller: