When times get difficult, everyone counts on a friend or two to lean on for advice and support. One woman has now resigned from her position in a Washington county prosecutor’s office after being investigated and possibly facing criminal charges for allegedly aiding a friend. She has not been formally charged with a crime at this point, but a fellow prosecutor alluded to it as being a matter for a federal court.
The investigation was launched supposedly as a result of guards at a local jail noticing a high number of visits between the former prosecutor and an inmate. It was reportedly determined that, while the woman was not acting in the capacity of legal counsel for the man, the pair were granted the use of the attorney-client rooms for their personal visits. According to the log, the woman listed the visits as professional in nature.
The woman and the male inmate were purportedly friends at the time when the man became wanted in connection with a criminal investigation. The man was alleged to have contacted the woman while he was still being sought, and she is accused of providing him with transportation. The pair are further alleged to have exchanged well over 1,300 messages via text while he was still on the run. Since the man’s incarceration, the pair have visited numerous times, and jail employees reportedly found photographs of the woman in swimwear in the man’s possession.
At one point, before the woman tendered her resignation, she was on paid administrative leave. She is awaiting further developments in the case. Another prosecutor from the Washington office stated that any criminal charges would most likely be filed in federal court for the alleged accusations of providing criminal assistance to the formerly convicted man. This woman is well-versed with how the criminal justice system operates in her state, and she is most likely preparing her own strong defense in answer to any case the government may be preparing to try against her. The report did indicate that the two sides were nearing a resolution to the matter.
Source: khq.com, “Spokane county prosecutor resigns position while being investigated for alleged crime“, Dylan Wohlenhaus, Sept. 10, 2014