Ex-Montco GOP chief agrees to disbarment
Former Montgomery County Republican Chairman Robert J. Kerns, who pleaded no contest in a sexual assault case in 2014, has agreed to be disbarred.
Former Montgomery County Republican Chairman Robert J. Kerns, who pleaded no contest in a sexual assault case in 2014, has agreed to be disbarred.
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court's disciplinary board on Monday accepted Kerns' resignation from practicing law.
Kerns resigned in 2013 as GOP chairman and partner at a Blue Bell law firm as he faced charges for raping a former employee at his law firm.
He pleaded no contest in 2014 to indecent assault and was sentenced to two years of probation. A judge ruled last year that he must register as a sexually violent predator for life.
A notice filed to the Supreme Court last month stated that Kerns resigned from law practice "because he knows that he could not successfully defend himself against the charges of professional misconduct."
Kerns's law license was suspended last year, but his resignation filed last month noted that he still had pending discplinary proceedings before the Supreme Court.
Kern's attorney, Brian McMonagle, did not respond to a request for comment on Tuesday.
The disbarment is effective retroactively to last February, the Supreme Court's disciplinary board ruled Monday.
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