Bronx Judge Cynthia Lopez Wrote Mom in Custody Case on Swingers’ App, Woman Says

New York Judge Cynthia Lopez has recused herself from a family court case after a woman accused her of writing her through a swingers’ site, according to the mother’s posts on social media and The New York Post.

The Post reported that the Bronx-based judge “abruptly took herself off a child custody case after the mom involved publicly accused the jurist of coming on to her via a swinger’s app.”

Sidney Southerland, the mother in question, first aired her accusations on her TikTok and X pages.

The state Office of Court Administration told The Post: “The Court has been made aware of this claim, and is reviewing it.” The newspaper reported that Lopez declined to comment.

Here’s what you need to know:

Sidney Southerland Says Judge Cynthia Lopez Messaged Her Through the Swingers’ Site & She Quickly Recognized Her

Sidney Southerland is the mother in question. She wrote on her X page on January 26, “Bronx family court Judge currently overseeing my case is inboxing me from a swingers app has a verified account Judge Cynthia Lopez, correct?”

She tagged a number of elected officials as well as former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, writing, “NYGovCuomo …. Get this woman off my case. I’m extremely uncomfortable. I wrote you a while ago concerning her weird behavior and now look she thinks she’s pdiddy harassing me on a swingers website.”

On January 30, Southerland wrote on X, “I swear I can’t make this ish up. Idk if she realizes I literally have the REAL reason on TikTok and Facebook. Y’all ready for the backfire she gets once the truth comes out? I am.” She shared an email, which appears to be from her lawyer, in which officials accused her of making a threat to Lopez.

Southerland also shared the New York Post story on X and wrote, “She lied and said I threatened her outside of court on the recusal hearing. The new judge and her are both apart of the Latino judge association…. I don’t want her either.”

On TikTok, Southerland shared what she says is a communication from Lopez to her on the site, which reads, “GM Chyna, Am Cynthia. How are you?” She included two photos she says show Lopez in black lingerie.

“My lawyer told me not to post this and create a scandal … lets go all out🤷🏽‍♀️” she wrote in the caption.

Daily Mail reported that Lopez is accused of sending the message to Southerland “on 3Fun, an app for ‘sexually free singles.'”

“Her purported profile featured a photo of the judge in a skimpy dress and heels and stated she was part of a couple ‘looking to have some hot sexy fun’ with other couples,” Daily Mail reported.

Southerland told Daily Mail she responded to the message after recognizing Lopez and wrote, “B**** you know who the f*** I am.”

According to Daily Mail, the Administration for Children’s Services took Southerland’s two children from her in 2022 after she was arrested in the Bronx. She has a previous arrest history for assault, according to Daily Mail. Southerland posted a lengthy description of her side in that matter on her TikTok page.

Judge Cynthia Lopez Has Been Assigned to Bronx County Family Court Since 2021

Judge Cynthia Lopez “was appointed to serve as a Judge in the NYC Civil Court, assigned to the Bronx County Family Court on June 14, 2021, and reappointed on January 1, 2022, where she is currently presiding over child protection cases,” according to the Latino Judges Association.

“Judge Lopez is a member of the Latino Judge’s Association, New York City Family Court Judge’s Association, and the New York State Judge’s Association. Judge Lopez is also a member of the Family Court Advisory and Rules Committee,” that bio says.

According to the bio, “Judge Lopez began her legal career with New York City’s Administration for Children’s Services (ACS) Division of Family Court Legal Services (FCLS) as a staff attorney in the Queens FCLS office in 2001 after receiving both her undergraduate and law degrees from St. John’s University.”

The bio continues:

Over the next 8 years, Judge Lopez was progressively promoted and in 2009 became the Manhattan FCLS Borough Chief. In this role, she exemplified what it is to be a leader, cultivating new and strong relationships with the judiciary, other legal advocacy organizations, ACS agency partners, and her counterparts across ACS.

In 2011, Judge Lopez took on oversight of the Staten Island FCLS office while remaining the Borough Chief for Manhattan FCLS office, bringing her leadership, passion and wisdom to two boroughs. In 2018, Judge Lopez took her leadership skills and passion to Brooklyn when she transitioned to the role of Brooklyn FCLS Borough Chief.

Although Judge Lopez’s nearly two-decade long career at ACS was spent entirely with FCLS, her contributions to the agency as a whole and to the greater NYC Child Welfare System were abundant.

Judge Lopez’s input was regularly sought in the development of new policies and pilots; she crafted and delivered trainings to ACS staff, and her sound judgment and legal expertise were critically important time and again when reviewing difficult cases.

According to Brooklyn Eagle, Lopez was appointed a family court judge by New York Mayor Eric Adams.

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