The Arkansas judge who posted private details of Charlize Theron's adoption of her son has been forced to hand in his law licence because of a bribery conviction in a separate case. By surrendering his licence, circuit Judge Michael Maggio has avoided a disciplinary hearing over the conviction, for which he faces up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine when he is sentenced in July. Maggio, 52, sparked controversy last March when he admitted posting a series of comments that were racist, sexist and offensive towards the LGBT community over the past several years. Charlize Theron pictured with Jackson, the boy she adopted from her native South Africa. Michael Maggio revealed the Hollywood actress had adopted two months before she announced it publically . Theron with her partner Sean Penn. Maggio initially pretended a friend had been the judge who oversaw the star's adoption hearing . Using the under the pseudonym 'geauxjudge', Maggio made the comments on the on a Louisiana State University fan message board. His comments in January 2012 divulged details of Theron's adoption - two months before she publicly released the information. On the message board, Maggio said a 'judge friend' had handled  Theron's adoption, before admitting that he was also involved in the case. When a poster asked if she had adopted a black child, he said that she had. Such proceedings are confidential in Arkansas. Theron adopted the boy, Jackson, from her native South Africa. In a June 2011 posting, 'geauxjudge' suggested that women who seek divorces after their husbands cheat may be better off financially by staying married. 'I see it everyday,' he wrote. 'A woman makes (an) emotional decision to divorce because the husband stepped out. When otherwise he was a good provider, father, and husband. 'Then a year or two later realizes uh oh I am worse off financially, emotionally and relationship wise but hey they showed that SOB. Too many times the women get their advice from other divorced women.' In another, Maggio, who has three sons and two daughters from a previous relationship and lives with his partner, Dawn, made derogatory comments about women, saying they needed to take care of a man's two basic needs for sex and food, adding: 'It takes two to pull the wagon'. Responding to a story about a woman who was arrested for allegedly having sex with a dog, 'geauxjudge' wrote that it was 'just a small step' from having 'TGGLBS' sex, an apparent reference to transgender, gay, lesbian or bisexual sex. Two months after he pleaded guilty to federal bribery charges Maggio filed a request with the Arkansas Supreme Court in March to voluntarily surrender his law licence in order to 'avoid the expense, stress and publicity of further addressing his [bribery] conviction', according to court notes. Now he has been completely barred from practising law in Arkansas and removed from the state's registry of licensed attorneys. A call to his lawyer for comment by the Associated Press was not immediately returned yesterday. Theron with Jackson in LA in February. Adoption proceedings are confidential in Arkansas but Maggio leaked details of the actress's hearing . Maggio, who has five children from a previous relationship, is pictured with his partner, Dawn, left and right . Postings on the website TigerDroppings.com show Maggio discussing confidential information about Theron's adoption application . Prosecutors in Maggio's bribery case said he accepted campaign donations from nursing home owner Michael Morton and a lobbyist in exchange for reducing a jury award in a negligence case. In that case, Maggio reduced the jury award from $5.2 million to $1 million in a lawsuit stemming from the death of a nursing home patient. Campaign finance records showed Morton's political action committees contributed money to Maggio's campaign for the Arkansas Court of Appeals. The family of the woman who died, Martha Bull, filed a lawsuit late last year against Maggio, nursing home owner Michael Morton and lobbyist Gilbert Baker protesting the reduction of the award. A circuit court judge dismissed Maggio from the civil case last month, but not the other two defendants, saying Maggio had judicial immunity because he was acting in his official capacity as a judge.
Michael Maggio is already banned for life from holding judicial office for revealing actress's adoption of boy two months before she went public . Posted on Louisiana State University sports forum in 2012 that Theron had applied to take on the youngster in same court division where he served . As 'geauxjudge' he also posted derogatory comments about women . Faces prison sentence of 10 years and $250,000 fine for bribery conviction .