Prosecutor Candidate Accused of Accepting Sex for Fee After Ex-Client Claims Secret Tape
A prosecutor candidate in Southern Indiana has been accused of secretly videotaping a tryst with a former client who agreed to pay her bill with sex.
The lawyer, 57-year-old William Wallace of Princeton, Ind., is a candidate for Gibson County prosecuting attorney and was formerly the contract lawyer for the city of Princeton, the Princeton Daily Clarion reports. He also received an award for pro bono work last year.
He is charged with patronizing a prostitute, possession of child pornography, obstruction of justice and false informing, the story says.
Special prosecutor Jonathan Parkhurst alleges the former client went to police after Wallace showed the sex tape to her boyfriend, according to the story. The client said she didn’t know the sexual encounter was taped. Parkhurst told the newspaper that Wallace left his house during a police search and was caught trying to stuff video disks and an external hard drive down his pants.
Parkhurst said investigators found two videos of “what appears to be children engaged in sexual activities” and the investigation is ongoing.
The judge overseeing the grand jury proceeding, Earl Penrod, told the newspaper that the indictment was returned at about the same time that a storm blew out a courtroom window, sending glass within 18 inches of the jury box. It may have been the first time grand jurors were in the courtroom, he told the Daily Clarion, so they may not have known what to expect. “Although I don’t think they were expecting a window to come flying out,” he said.
The Associated Press, the Indianapolis Star and WFIE.com also have stories.
