CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Kanawha County Prosecutor Chuck Miller said Wednesday he made the right decision to have his office removed from the investigation into alleged lewd behavior by Kanawha County Commission President Kent Carper.
Miller asked a circuit judge to remove his office from the case and to have a special prosecutor appointed. The judge granted the request a few weeks ago. Logan County Prosecutor David Wandling was appointed special prosecutor by the West Virginia Prosecuting Attorney’s Institute.
Miller said the steps he took are normal during a case with high notoriety and potential conflicts.
“I’m sure that Kent would echo this that the case needs to be thoroughly investigated by an independent agency and decisions made with respects to the facts by an independent prosecutor and that’s where I believe this is headed,” Miller told reporters Wednesday at the Kanawha County Courthouse.
A woman called Kanawha County Metro 911 from Daniel Boone Park in Charleston on May 15 and reported a man had exposed himself to her. Carper’s family came out a few days later and detailed some medical issues Carper was having.
“My father’s illness and his apparent confusion have been misinterpreted as being something inappropriate. My family and I regret this awful misunderstanding,” Carper’s youngest daughter Virginia Carper said in a May 19 statement.
She called it “an awful misunderstanding.”
The family said Carper suffered a stroke and heart attack that week before undergoing quadruple bypass surgery. He is currently recovering at home.
There are no charges against Carper.
Wandling has asked the West Virginia State Police to take over the investigation. He did so last week after some emails allegedly sent by Carper, after police responded to the park, were part of media reports.
“It’s very frustrating to me that the Kanawha County Commission or their representatives released information … that has not been made available to my office,” Wandling told the Charleston Gazette-Mail last Friday. “And so, I’m likely to just refer it to [interim superintendent] Lt. [Jack] Chambers for an independent investigation.”
Miller said the Kanawha County Commission administers his office’s budget. He said handling the Carper investigation would have been the wrong thing to do.
“My office making decisions about it would appear to be bias in some fashion. So in order to avoid the appearance of some sort of prejudice or bias in the case we thought an independent prosecutor would be the way to go,” Miller said.
Miller is serving his second term in office. He said Wednesday he’s not running again. He’s thrown his support behind longtime assistant prosecutor Debra Rusnak. Rusnak told reporters Wednesday she supports Miller’s decision in seeking a special prosecutor.
Miller said he’s known Carper for 45 years and respects his years of public service.