Missouri AG removes Ray County prosecutor, alleges misconduct and neglect
Ray County Prosecutor Camille Johnston has been removed from office, according to a petition filed by Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway.
Hanaway’s office filed a petition to remove Johnston from office, alleging misconduct, according to a news release from the attorney general’s office.
A Ray County judge approved a preliminary order immediately removing Johnston as the county’s prosecutor, effective immediately, “pending the outcome of the full lawsuit,” the news release said.
The Star was unable to reach Johnston for comment.
According to the judge’s preliminary order, Johnston is not allowed to enter the prosecutor’s office, Ray County Courthouse, “nor conduct any business with that office, unless expressly authorized by this court.”
In the petition, Hanaway alleged Johnston verbally berated her staff and “engaged in an intimate and romantic relationship” with a criminal defense attorney representing “defendants in matters prosecuted by Johnston.” Hanaway also alleged Johnston had relationships with a “prospective defendant” and an immigrant without legal status who was being prosecuted for alleged sexual assault in the county, according to the news release.
The news release alleged Johnston terminated an employee who discovered her relationship with the “prospective defendant.” She allegedly gave the immigrant the title to her vehicle “to assist him in absconding.”
“Johnston’s record reflects a sustained pattern of misconduct and willful neglect that has undermined the integrity of the prosecutor’s office and poses a serious threat to public safety,” Hanaway said in the news release. “In Missouri, public office is public trust, not a personal entitlement and no one is above accountability.”
The petition was filed “quo warranto,” a court process often used against politicians accused of graft.
