A New York judge has admitted he broke into a neighbour's house to steal her dirty underwear. 

Robert Cicale has pleaded not guilty to burglary charges but confessed to having acted on urges to sneak into his neighbour's property and digging through her laundry basket. 

The 23-year-old neighbour previously worked for Mr Cicale as an intern, US media reported. 

She reportedly heard a noise inside her house on Thursday morning and called police. When officers arrived, they found Mr Cicale in the street with the woman's soiled underwear in his possession. 

The judge told investigators it was not the first time he had broken into the house. 

He has been suspended of judicial duties while the case is underway. 

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.