North Carolina sheriff steps down after sexual misconduct charges
Bryson City, NC – The long -standing sheriff of a county of the North of the North West that some women accused of sexual misconduct has left before it could be permanently removed.
Curtis Cochran, who was elected Sheriff of the County of Swain in 2006, retired from La Poste from July 1, according to a press release from the Council of County Commissioners. The chief deputy exercises the functions of the sheriff while the commissioners decide who will serve the rest of the Mandate of Cochran at the end of 2026, according to the press release.
Cochran, 72, was charged before courts of state of restraint criminal and sexual offense, requesting prostitution and assault against a woman, according to the arrest warrants of June 27. The same day, Ashley Hornsby Welch, the district prosecutor of Swain and six other Western extreme counties, deposited a petition aimed at withdrawing Cochran from his functions for “intentional misconduct and poor administration in office”.
A judge of the Superior Court immediately suspended Cochran from his functions pending a final court decision. But the referral petition becomes theoretical to the retirement of Cochran. An audience linked to the petition for Monday in the County of Graham adjacent was canceled, according to data from the online courts.
The Welch dismissal petition included affidavits signed by two women who allege that Cochran has made unwanted sexual advances on them while he was driving on land held by the Oriental Cherokee Indians. The reserve of the eastern band, known as Qualla Boundary, is in parts of the county of Swain.
The county of 14,000 people is around 300 miles (483 kilometers) west of Raleigh and includes a large part of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park which rides the Tennessee border.
Cochran was released on bond for the criminal accusations of the State and faces a court hearing on August 5. He is also charged under the tribal law of the eastern band of two heads of oppression in office and an abusive sexual contact chief, said Carla Neadeau, head of the Indian Police Department of Cherokee, in a press release.
Cochran lawyer did not respond on Monday or Tuesday to a telephone message and emails requesting additional comments and details.
The Associated Press generally does not name people who say they have been sexually assaulted.
The petition alleys that on June 22, a woman – a member of the East band – reported what she thought was a vehicle responsible for the application of laws. She was turned upside down and cried because she and her boyfriend fought verbally, and she accepted an invitation in the driver’s SUV – which the authorities identified as Cochran – because she thought it would spread the situation, indicates the petition.
The petition alleys that when Cochran began to drive, he began to touch the woman despite his objections and asked her to perform a sexual act, but she refused. He then removed the road SUV, came out and positioned himself so that the woman could not get out of the vehicle and asked again, according to the petition. Cochran said to the woman if there was a time when I was in trouble, all I would have to do was say her name and he would help me, “read the affidavit of the woman. She refused again, finally deposited at home and contacted the tribal police.
The affidavit signed by the other woman declared that on June 23 – shortly after being released from the tribal prison – she accepted a journey of what looked like a government vehicle which, according to her, turned out to be led by Cochran. She said that Cochran was starting to touch her – which was doing it when she was moving away – and she finally got out of the vehicle.
The FBI and the State investigation office also participated in the criminal investigation, which included video sequences, according to the petition.
Cochran, a Republican, had no experience of the police before his first electoral victory in the sheriff, having previously been director of maintenance of the county of Swain.
