A deputy prosecutor for Snohomish County was fired last week after he was charged for driving under the influence of alcohol. Now, the same prosecutor is under a criminal investigation for allegedly groping a female co-worker.
Snohomish County's elected prosecutor, Mark Roe, stated that a Chelan County detective recently interviewed a female deputy prosecutor who told them Chris Dickinson, a longtime deputy prosecutor, grabbed her breasts at a legal conference last month in Chelan.
Speaking about the allegations, County Prosecutor Mark Roe said, “I feel terrible about it. It’s been probably my worst week as prosecutor.”
Last week, Roe fired Dickinson when he was arrested for DUI just hours after the legal conference at Campbell’s Resort ended. Unfortunately, the DUI arrest and groping incident aren’t the only questionable incidents involving Dickinson.
Another deputy prosecutor also gave Roe two photographs that show Dickinson and his topless girlfriend at a hotel room gathering of deputy prosecutors only hours before Dickinson’s was arrested for DUI.
Roe said, “I don’t know how she came to be exposed in that fashion on the top half of her body.” According to Roe, Dickinson’s girlfriend, who is an employee at Snohomish County Juvenile court, appeared to be drunk and unconscious.
Roe said the other deputy prosecutor in the room who took the two photos of the couple did so to document their conduct. “A young DPA took the photo because he was appalled by the actions of Dickinson and thought it should be documented in some fashion so that he could be held accountable for that,” Roe said.
Roe did say that the picture of the unconscious woman should not have been taken, and he’s disappointed in the behavior of senior employees in the room who did not act quickly enough to address Dickinson’s questionable conduct. Roe also added that the young prosecutor who took the photo was “reprimanded.”
The Snohomish County prosecutor said the continuing education legal conference has been held annually in Chelan for more than 40 years. According to him, in the past, the most serious problem had been the occasional “hangover.”
Roe said he’s “disappointed” with the actions and behavior of some of his employees, and believes it’s entirely possible that Dickinson could end up facing more than just a DUI charge when Chelan County Sheriff’s wrap up their investigation.
Speaking about the hotel room groping incident, Roe said, “I spent 12 years in our special assault unit. I don’t know any way to describe that. If that took place, that’s a sexual assault in my mind.”
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