Former Brown County District Attorney, Republican Sky Sudderth, Arrested
Sudderth arrested on sex offense
Former DA in Brownwood accused of assault against a minor near Austin
By Celinda Emison / emisonc@reporternews.com
June 13, 2006
Former 35th District Attorney Skylar Barclay Sudderth of Brownwood, who resigned in 2004 after being charged with several offenses, has been arrested on charges of aggravated sexual assault of a child.
Sudderth remains in jail in Williamson County, officials said Monday. Williamson County, with Georgetown as the county seat, is about 30 miles north of Austin.
Williamson County District Attorney John Bradley said Sudderth, 39, was arrested after a complaint was filed last week charging that he committed aggravated sexual assault against a relative who is a minor. The complaint was filed by a detective with the Leander Police Department following an investigation.
''He has not been indicted by a grand jury,'' Bradley said. ''We will be presenting this to a grand jury within the next 30 to 90 days.''
A spokesperson at the Williamson County Sheriff's Department said Sudderth was arrested at 12:50 p.m. on June 5 and charged with aggravated sexual assault of a child and evading arrest. He remains in custody in lieu of bonds totaling $400,000.
This is not Sudderth's first run-in with the law.
In December of 2003, Sudderth was indicted by a Brown County grand jury on charges of aggravated perjury, tampering with governmental records and tampering and fabricating physical evidence regarding a case in which he made a plea bargain with a sex offender.
All three charges against Sudderth were officially dismissed in June 2004 after he resigned and paid fines and court costs of more than $3,000, according to orders filed at the district clerk's office.
Sudderth, the Republican candidate, defeated Brown County District Attorney Lee Haney in November of 2000 and took office Jan. 1, 2001.
source: http://www.reporter-news.com/abil/nw_local/article/0,1874,ABIL_7959_4770367,00.html
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Saturday June 17, 2006
News
Attorney ‘absolutely’ certain of Sudderth’s innocence
By Steve Nash — Brownwood Bulletin
Bryan attorney Phillip Banks said he can usually peg a child molester after 10 or 15 minutes, and former 35th District Attorney Sky Sudderth doesn’t fit the mold.
“What I can tell you is, that having met Skylar recently, he does not strike me as that sort of individual,” Banks said. “Normally, if somebody has those kind of problems, I can figure it out in 10 or 15 minutes.”
Banks is defending Sudderth, 39, of Leander, on charges of aggravated sexual assault of a child and evading arrest and detention. The alleged victim is a 7-year-old female relative, court documents state.
Sudderth has been in the Williamson County Jail since his June 5 arrest, in lieu of bonds totaling $400,000.
Banks said he is “absolutely” certain of Sudderth’s innocence, and he will seek a lower bond at a June 28 hearing in district court.
“My gut impression is that he is somebody that has been falsely accused. I am very skeptical. ... He’s a very bright man and a very nice person.”
Banks said lab results of “some kind of DNA” are pending. He referred comment on the DNA to District Attorney John Bradley’s office but said “DNA can be planted.”
Bradley could not be reached for comment.
Court documents give only sketchy details of the state’s case against Sudderth or what happened in the final hours before his arrest at 12:50 that afternoon.
The night before, the state alleges in a court document, Sudderth went to the girl’s room and assaulted her. Bradley declined earlier to say how or when the allegation was reported to authorities.
At an unspecified time on June 5, court documents allege, Deputy Constable Jason Veselka, driving a fully marked police vehicle, saw a vehicle partially in a ditch in Cedar Park. Veselka activated his car’s emergency lights and pulled up behind the vehicle, and a man, later identified as Sudderth, got out of the driver’s seat and began to walk away, the affidavit states.
Veselka got out of his car and the man began to run, the affidavit states.
The affidavit does not say what happened to the man, but says Veselka learned his identity from the man’s wife.
At 12:50 p.m. that day, Sudderth was booked into the Williamson County Jail on the aggravated sexual assault of a child charge. Sudderth was arrested by a Leander police officer, a sheriff’s official said earlier, but he did not know the details of that arrest.
Banks said Sudderth has been working at a hospital, but he did not know which one or the nature of his job. He said he is familiar with Sudderth’s history as 35th District Attorney.
Banks said Sudderth is holding up “amazingly well” since his arrest.
He did not know if rumors about an impending divorce between Sudderth and his wife, Danielle, are true. Sudderth is not party to any divorce filings in Williamson County, district clerk records show.
Banks said he met Sudderth through his longtime friendship with Sudderth’s sister, Bonnie, a district judge in Tarrant County.
source:http://www.brownwoodbulletin.com/articles/2006/06/17/news/news01.txt
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UPDATE: June 28, 2006
More sex charges filed against former district attorney
By Celinda Emison / emisonc@reporternews.com
June 28, 2006
Sky Sudderth, the former district attorney for Brown and Mills counties, was charged Sunday with five additional counts of aggravated sexual assault, according to Williamson County Jail records.
Sudderth, 39, was arrested June 5 and charged with aggravated sexual assault of a child and evading arrest. Since then, Sudderth was charged with the five additional counts of aggravated sexual assault of a child, plus one count of tampering with evidence. He faces eight charges in all.
He remains in the Williamson County Jail in lieu of bonds totaling $1.7 million.Last Friday, Williamson County District Attorney John Bradley said he expects to receive results from DNA testing in coming weeks. So far, Sudderth has not been indicted, but Bradley said he has 90 days to present the case to the grand jury.
A hearing is slated for 9 a.m. today in the 368th District Court in Georgetown. Sudderth's attorney, Phillip C. Banks of Bryan-College Station, said he will ask 368th District Judge Burt Carnes to lower his client's bond.
''My impression is that he (Sudderth) is innocent,'' Banks said. ''He is a very nice man and we expect him to be exonerated.''
Bradley did not return calls for comment Tuesday. He previously said Sudderth was arrested after a complaint was filed in early June charging that he committed aggravated sexual assault against a 7-year-old girl who is a relative.
Sudderth took office as district attorney for Brown and Mills counties Jan. 1, 2001. In December 2003, Sudderth was indicted on charges of aggravated perjury, tampering with governmental records and tampering and fabricating physical evidence regarding a case in which he made a plea bargain with a sex offender.
Those charges were dismissed in June 2004 after Sudderth resigned as district attorney and paid fines and court costs of more than $3,000, according to orders filed at the district clerk's office.
source: http://www.reporter-news.com/abil/nw_local/article/0,1874,ABIL_7959_4806723,00.html
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Former Central Texas DA Charged With Child Sexual Assault
(June 27, 2006)--A former Central Texas prosecutor was jailed Tuesday in Georgetown on multiple charges including sexual assault of a child.
Sky Sudderth, 39, is an ex-prosecutor for Brown and Mills counties.
Leander police arrested him on June 5 on a charge of aggravated sexual assault of a child.
Police later filed five more similar charges, a charge of evading arrest and a charge of tampering with or fabricating physical evidence.
Bond was set at $1.7 million.
A defense attorney says there's never been any accusation of such activity against Sudderth before these charges were filed.
A prosecutor says only one child was involved.
Sudderth was elected as district attorney for Brown and Mills counties in 2000.
He resigned in 2004 after being indicted on charges of perjury, tampering with a government record and tampering with or fabricating physical evidence.
Those charges were later dropped.
source: http://www.kwtx.com/home/headlines/3236561.html
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