No charges will be filed against a former Snohomish County jail cook who was accused last year of fondling inmates and offering them sex in the kitchen.
The case won’t be pursued because it is unlikely a jury would find the 37-year-old Everett woman guilty based almost entirely on statements from inmates, Mark Roe, the county’s chief criminal deputy prosecutor, said Monday.
"Our decision is very simple: Do we believe there is enough evidence, when skillfully presented, that a jury will vote 12-0 that the defendant is guilty as charged," Roe said.
The prosecutor said he and other senior deputies reviewed the case and concluded there are too many challenges. Inmates told conflicting stories about what allegedly occurred, and some of those making the most serious accusations claimed to be witnesses, not participants, in instances of alleged sexual touching, the prosecutor said.
Police in December asked prosecutors to charge the woman with up to four counts of sexual misconduct. Inmates had repeatedly complained about the cook, who is the daughter of a jail supervisor, since retired. Police weren’t notified until October, after three internal investigations at the jail.
The first two investigations, conducted in late summer 2002, were characterized in jail documents as focusing primarily on whether the cook brought cigarettes into the jail or had engaged in horseplay and water fights with inmates.
The cook resigned in October 2002 when jail officials told her they were investigating allegations of sexual misconduct.
The investigation became public in March, just one of a series of problems to surface at the jail. Other trouble included two inmate deaths and the disappearance of $10,000 in bail money.
Within weeks, Andrea Bynum, former director of the corrections department, was fired after she refused to resign.
Bynum has made it clear she is considering a lawsuit against the county. Her attorney, Mitchell Cogdill of Everett, on Monday said he thinks the county has been hypocritical.
The executive’s office used the investigation of the cook as "a ground bandied about for (Bynum’s) removal," Cogdill said. Now, prosecutors have decided they can’t prove misconduct, he said.
"That could raise questions, at least on that ground, as to the underlying cause for her removal," Cogdill said.
Susan Neely, who oversees criminal justice matters for County Executive Bob Drewel, declined comment.
Roe said deputy prosecutor John Stansell interviewed all of the witnesses before making a recommendation. At most, the cook could have been facing misdemeanor charges, he said.
The politics surrounding problems at the jail played no role in the decision, Roe said.
"We are aware of all that," he said. "We are aware of the relationships of some of the involved parties. But frankly, none of that stuff has a thing to do with whether we can prove these allegations."
Herald writer Jim Haley contributed to this report.
Reporter Scott North: 425-339-3431 or north@heraldnet.com.
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