A disbarred Tulsa attorney at the center of a long-running sexual-assault investigation has been handed a split 10-year sentence after entering a no-contest plea, with a judge ordering five years behind bars and five years suspended. The terms run concurrently, and the court gave him credit for time already served, which cuts into how much additional prison time he is expected to face. Court filings list charges that included first-degree rape, attempted rape and rape by instrumentation. Investigators say multiple women have come forward with allegations spanning more than a decade.
According to FOX23, Jeffrey Krigel entered no-contest pleas in Tulsa County District Court yesterday, and the judge imposed 10-year terms on the counts to which he pleaded. The outlet reports that Krigel must serve the first five years in the custody of the Oklahoma Department of Corrections, with the remaining five years suspended, and that he was granted credit for time he has already spent in jail.
Court record and allegations
Tulsa police first arrested Krigel in June 2021 and later said investigators had interviewed multiple women who alleged assaults dating back to 2005, News On 6 reported. Court filings connected to case number CF-2023-1973 outline a series of counts tied to alleged incidents in 2011, 2015, 2021 and 2022, according to appellate records reviewed on Justia.
In January 2023, the Oklahoma Supreme Court moved to suspend Krigel from practicing law after the Oklahoma Bar Association alleged he made reckless, malicious and dishonest statements and that his conduct poses an immediate threat of substantial and irreparable public harm, according to court documents. The order, posted on FindLaw, also required him to notify his clients of the suspension while disciplinary proceedings continued.
What the sentence means
Local reporting and police statements indicate that some of the additional counts involved witness intimidation and distribution of obscene material, accusations that prosecutors say fit a pattern of harassment directed at alleged victims and witnesses, KJRH reported. Because the judge ordered Krigel’s 10-year terms to run at the same time instead of stacking and awarded him credit for time served, the practical effect is that his actual remaining time in custody will be shorter than the full decade described in the sentence.
The sentence was entered in Tulsa County District Court, and court dockets are expected to reflect the judgment, the concurrent structure of the term and the credit for time already served. Any future filings, including appeals or paperwork tied to the suspended portion of the sentence and its probation conditions, will show how the punishment is carried out going forward.
