LINCOLN CITY, Ore. — The deputy district attorney who pursued criminal charges against two bottom-swatting McMinnville boys is in legal trouble herself.
Police arrested Debra Markham in Lincoln City last month for allegedly punching her husband during a dispute, The Oregonian newspaper reported. A police officer said Markham’s husband had blood on his forehead and cheek.
Markham pleaded not guilty to misdemeanor charges of assault and harassment. Shortly after her arrest, Markham either left or lost her job at the Yamhill County district attorney’s office. County officials declined comment, saying it’s a personnel matter.
Markham’s prosecution of the two seventh-graders made national news in the summer of 2007.
Markham and District Attorney Bradley Berry got complaints from across the country for pursuing criminal charges against the boys who were accused of slapping girls on the bottom. The pair were jailed for five days and charged with multiple counts of felony sex abuse.
A judge later dismissed the case after defense lawyers reached a confidential out-of-court settlement with four of the girls named as victims in the complaint.
Juvenile court records in the case showed both boys and girls were slapping bottoms, and two of the girls identified as victims said they felt pressured by investigators to give false statements.
The families of the boys have since sued the county over the prosecution.
“I feel like karma has finally come back to Debra Markham for prosecuting Cory and Ryan,” said Tracie Mashburn, the mother of one of the boys.
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