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District Attorney fires Assistant DA for allegedly asking about victim's immigration status, refusing to bring charges

Published  November 8, 2019 4:15pm CST
News
FOX 26 Houston

Assistant DA fired after questioning victim’s immigration status

A prosecutor has been fired after allegedly refusing to bring charges to a man because he suspected the victim of his crime was in the country illegally.

HOUSTON - A prosecutor has been fired after allegedly refusing to bring charges to a man because he suspected the victim of his crime was in the country illegally.

Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg said that following an internal review, she has fired assistant DA John Denholm, who asked police whether a crime victim was illegally in the United States.

“It is wrong to ask about a victim’s immigration status; it is against our policy, and it won’t be tolerated,” Ogg said. “We treat everyone equally under the law, no matter how they came to be here.”

Assistant District Attorney John Denholm, who had been with the office since January 2017, is a retired Harris County Sheriff’s Office lieutenant.

Denholm was reassigned on Monday pending a review of the case which began on October 31 and resulted in a Houston man, Kark Bonner, being charged Tuesday with attempted sexual assault.