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Former judicial candidate sues ex-wife Defamation accusation comes in the midst of battles over child custody By Chris Bristol A Grants Pass attorney whose bid for judge was undercut by disclosures of sadomasochism has sued his ex-wife for defamation, alleging she falsely accused him of molesting their young son. James H. Boldt filed suit Nov. 27 in Jackson County Court, seeking damages of $1.25 million from his ex-wife, Lia Nikolaevna Boldt of Medford. Boldt, 53, alleges his ex-wife falsely "published" information in June that he molested or sexually abused their 5-year-old son and that she claimed the boy also reported such abuse. He filed the lawsuit himself instead of using another attorney. In defamation cases, the term "publish" is broadly defined as statements to the public or "third parties" not otherwise privy to such information. The Boldts have been fighting over child custody and support for years. The lawsuit comes on the heels of Boldt�s unsuccessful campaign in May for judge in Josephine County � a normally staid affair that was marked by pre-election disclosures about Boldt�s divorce. Boldt got 9,689 votes but was defeated by incumbent Loyd O�Neal, who got 14,113 votes. According to court records, the Boldts had been married three years when Lia Boldt, a mail-order bride from Russia, filed for divorce in 1997. It was her first marriage, his fourth. When she moved out, taking their son with her, Lia Boldt got a restraining order against her husband in which she said he forced her to call him "God" or "sovereign" and occasionally spanked her with a belt for being a "bad slave girl." "At this time I am a Russian citizen and Jim has always threatened me with deportation and loss of my child if I disobeyed him in any way," she wrote in an affidavit for the restraining order. Her husband appealed to the Oregon Court of Appeals, arguing a restraining order was unnecessary and prejudicial because his wife consented to the spanking. She was in no danger, he said, because she had moved out. The appeals court agreed, noting that the Boldts "had what the parties agree is described accurately as a dominant-submissive relationship." "At no point did (Lia Boldt) testify or even suggest that she feared a repetition of the conduct in question or that it was part of a cycle of abuse that was likely to repeat itself and from which she could not extricate herself," the court said. Similar allegations of sadomasochistic fetishism were made by one of Boldt�s previous wives. Boldt "has humiliated me in front of my children by asking me to crawl to him," his third wife wrote in a divorce affidavit in 1989. The defamation lawsuit does not specify where the comments were "published" or the identities of the third parties. Boldt also alleged his ex-wife has falsely accused him of saying he wants a daughter so he can have sex with her. Attorneys interviewed in connection with this story said otherwise defamatory statements made in the course of litigation are generally protected by the courts. Court records indicate Boldt is locked in custody and support disputes with his last two wives, including Lia Boldt. James Boldt, longtime Grants Pass attorney and former Josephine County counsel, could not be reached for comment. His office phone is forwarded to a number in Washington state. In a recent motion in his ongoing custody battle with his ex-wife, he told the court his financial prospects in Josephine County were "dismal" and that he made a little more than $16,000 from his law practice in 1999. Lia Boldt, 38, referred questions to her attorney, Paul Henderson, who did not return phone calls Thursday. In the early 1990s, Boldt found himself at the center of controversy in Grants Pass when a tape-recording of a county commission meeting was circulated in which he disparaged local anti-tax activists as "jerks." Those same activists sponsored an amendment to the county charter, making Boldt�s appointed position of county counsel an elected one. Voters passed it. Boldt did not run. Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2000 Mail Tribune, Inc.