Virginia state Del. Joe Morrissey had a rough end to 2014: he was sentenced to six months in jail in December on a misdemeanor conviction related to a sexual relationship he allegedly had with his underage former receptionist.
And the teen sex allegations are now dogging him into the new year. Morrissey told the Richmond Times-Dispatch on Monday that Henrico County police had raided his law office just in time to sideline his special election bid to replace himself, having resigned his seat in the Virginia Assembly effective Jan. 13.
The Times-Dispatch reported that detectives executed a search warrant late Monday at Morrissey’s law office, where he continues to practice and run his campaign thanks to a work-release agreement that allows him to spend 12 hours a day, seven days a week out of prison.
Morrissey told the newspaper that what the detectives were really searching for was information related to allegedly falsified court documents.
He told the Times-Dispatch detectives were looking for documentation of child support payments the father of Morrissey’s former receptionist was compelled to pay. The father, Coleman Pride, has alleged that Morrissey’s legal team forged those documents.
Morrissey did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment that TPM left at his office.
The Henrico County Police Department referred questions about the raid to Spotsylvania County Prosecutor William Neely’s office. Neely did not immediately respond to TPM’s request for comment.
Morrissey’s legal drama began last summer when a special grand jury indicted him on four felony sex charges that carried a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison. The charges stemmed from a nearly year-long investigation into Morrissey and the teenage receptionist’s relationship, sparked by her father’s concerns that his daughter was spending time at Morrissey’s home late into the night.
The lawmaker dropped the f-bomb on live television while responding to his indictment in July. He was reading aloud some text messages sent from the teenager’s phone that he said had been hacked.
“OMG, I just fucked my boss,” Morrissey said on TV.
He was eventually sentenced to just six months in prison after entering an Alford plea to a misdemeanor charge of contributing to the delinquency of a minor. In entering an Alford plea, Morrissey acknowledged that the prosecution had enough evidence to convict him but did not admit wrongdoing.
Morrissey, formerly a Democrat, is running as an independent in Tuesday’s special election. He told the Times-Dispatch that the police raid was intended to “disrupt” his campaign.
