UPDATE: Bribery Arrest For Paulding DA Donovan

UPDATE: Paulding County District Attorney Dick Donovan was arrested Monday afternoon after surrendering at the county sheriff's office. Donovan was in custody at about 4:30 p.m. and bonded out at about 5:41 p.m., according to department spokesperson Sgt. Ashley Henson.

UPDATE: Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr requested and received Thursday a bench warrant for the arrest of Paulding County District Attorney Dick Donovan, according to multiple reports. Donovan has until Tuesday to turn himself in at the Paulding County Detention Center. Patch will report as more details become available.

Original Patch story:

DALLAS, GA —District Attorney Donald Richard “Dick” Donovan was indicted Wednesday by a Paulding County grand jury on felony charges of bribery, false swearing and violation of oath by a public officer. The indictment follows a GBI investigation into accusations that Donovan had sexually harassed the county’s victim-witness coordinator.

“District attorneys work for the people and swear an oath to faithfully and impartially discharge their duties,” Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr said Wednesday in a statement announcing the indictment. “It is our duty to hold public officials who violate their oath accountable, and we look forward to presenting our case in court.”

According to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Paulding victim-witness coordinator Jamie White filed a complaint in 2019 that said Donovan had sexually harassed her, telling White that he loved her and wanted to have sex with her. White later sued Donovan, his office and Paulding County, claiming that the county didn’t stop Donovan even after she complained.

Donovan himself denied the accusations in a sworn affidavit, saying “I have never said I wanted to have sex with her” and “I have never touched her anywhere that was inappropriate.”

But an attorney’s report to Paulding County — based in part on recordings White made of her conversations with Donovan — contradicted Donovan’s claims.

As White continued to push back on Donovan, filing a discrimination complaint with the state and a federal lawsuit alleging sexually harassment, she was arrested for shoplifting in 2019 in Polk County. According to Wednesday’s indictment, the shoplifting charge was later dropped at Donovan’s behest, leading to a charge of felony bribery.

White received a $300,000 settlement in 2020, with Paulding County and the state of Georgia on the hook for most of it.

Donovan declined to comment on the indictment to The Associated Press.

Donovan has been Paulding County’s district attorney since 2010. He's up for reelection in 2022. In a Twitter post Wednesday, state Sen. Jason Anavitarte called for Donovan to resign.

Read the Georgia attorney general's statement.

Dick should resign. #gapol https://t.co/Z2UcmpjwYF
— Jason R. Anavitarte (@jasonanavitarte) February 17, 2021