MADISON COUNTY, AL (WAFF) - The indictment of a former Madison County Sheriff's deputy is putting hundreds of sex offender cases in jeopardy, according to the District Attorney's office.
A Madison County grand jury recently indicted Shawn McClure for theft and receiving stolen property. McClure's job at the Sheriff's Department was to check on all registered sex offenders in the county. Now, the DA's office said his arrest compromises every single one of those cases.
This month, about 20 cases involving sex offender violations were ‘no-billed' by a grand jury. DA Tim Gann said those cases were thrown out because of McClure's arrest and indictment, which could also threaten hundreds of other cases. McClure is the key witness, and often the only witness, in all of his cases.
This poses a problem for prosecutors because they can no longer call him as a witness. Gann said they are now in salvage mode as they try to re-open the cases that were thrown out.
"Some of those cases are gone and that is just the harsh reality when something like this happens. It is something that nobody likes, but it is something we have to deal with. The people investigating the cases now and our office are doing our best to make it right as best we can," Gann said. ..Source.. by Diana Crawford
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