SUTTON, W.Va. – A West Virginia county prosecutor has resigned and agreed to give up her law license for three years over her handling of sexual abuse allegations made against her father-in-law.
Kelly Hamon McLaughlin, the Braxton prosecuting attorney since 2009, appeared Thursday in Charleston before a disciplinary panel.
The Charleston Gazette-Mail reports the ethics charges say an 11-year-old girl in 2013 accused an elderly neighbor of trying to inappropriately touch her while she was swimming in his pool. A statement of charges against McLaughlin says law enforcement officials had noted the case needed a special prosecutor, but McLaughin never disclosed the reason why and told officials who followed up that it had been referred to another county.
McLaughin’s father-in-law, Valgene McLaughin, has not been charged in the matter.
