- Alleges cover-ups, harassment and retaliation inside U.S. judicial system
A former judge in Prince George’s County, Maryland, has issued a blistering account of her rise, tenure and eventual exit from the U.S. judicial system, alleging years of retaliation, harassment and institutional cover-ups after she reported being assaulted by lawyers at a professional conference more than a decade ago.
In an interview, April Ademiluyi, the U.S.-born daughter of Nigerian parents, said her decision to seek a judgeship was driven by her frustration with the justice system after she reported being drugged and sexually assaulted at a 2012 bar association event. Those she accused, she said, were lawyers with connections inside the legal community.
According to Ademiluyi, she cooperated with local police who helped her record a conversation with one of the individuals involved—only for the recording to later disappear and be replaced with a different version that excluded incriminating statements. The episode, she said, exposed what she viewed as a two-tiered justice system that protects the powerful.
A Campaign Built on Reform
A chemical engineer turned attorney, Ademiluyi ran for judge after her experience, vowing to challenge what she describes as entrenched inequities in the county’s courts. Winning the seat on her third attempt, she took office determined, she said, to ensure that wealth and influence would not dictate outcomes in her courtroom.
Her stance quickly put her at odds with colleagues. She alleges that some judges were involved in improper relationships with private detention contractors, including schemes that incentivised juvenile incarceration. Her efforts to report concerns to federal authorities, she said, provoked hostility from within the system she had just joined.
Claims of Retaliation and Harassment
Ademiluyi says that after she began raising alarms, she faced sweeping retaliation: scrutiny of her emails, accusations that she was biased because of her past victimisation, and what she viewed as coordinated efforts to paint her as unfit for the bench. She claims she received threatening letters and was trailed on the road by an unidentified truck—incidents she reported to police.
“This was from day one to the end,” she said, describing the environment as “extremely stressful” and alleging that no colleague stepped in to support her. By her account, the pressure culminated in her termination after roughly three years on the bench.
A System Under Scrutiny
Prince George’s County’s judiciary has faced criticism over the years for political infighting and uneven discipline. However, the specific allegations raised by Ademiluyi—including claims of corruption and retaliation—have not been publicly substantiated by external investigations. Local officials have not publicly responded to her latest statements.
Ademiluyi says she is not fighting to regain her position, but she continues to pursue litigation tied to how she was treated. She has since stepped away from the courtroom entirely and plans to return to her earlier field of intellectual-property law.
A Broader Reflection on Power and Justice
Speaking about the wider justice system, Ademiluyi argues that institutional corruption is not limited to any one country and says she hopes women—particularly African and African-diaspora women navigating male-dominated professions—do not abandon their ambitions.
“Corruption is everywhere,” she said. “But you keep going. You keep fighting. With perseverance and hard work, success happens.”
