James Ziegler, a justice of the peace in Kitchener, committed no crime when he entered a colleague’s courthouse office, shut the door, told her he desired her, and asked to have sex with her.

Ziegler, 74, was acquitted Tuesday of forcible confinement and criminal harassment after pleading not guilty in a two-day trial.

He did not escape a reprimand from Justice John Olver, who denounced Ziegler’s conduct toward another justice of the peace as “inappropriate and unprofessional,” but found it did not rise to the level of a crime.

“The public has a right to expect more of its judicial officers, and hold them to a higher standard,” Olver said.

Justices of the peace are appointed by the province. Their duties include presiding at bail hearings and in criminal remand courts.

James Ziegler

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