The Daily Press

DA drops 'vicious lies' defense, pleads guilty in sex case

By Michael Rubinkam

A Pennsylvania district attorney who had cast the case against him as a pack of “vicious lies” pleaded guilty Friday to pressuring clients for sex when he was a defense attorney and then coercing them to keep quiet about it.

Bradford County DA Chad Salsman admitted guilt and resigned from office three months after claiming he had “committed no crimes” and hinting he was the victim of a political smear by the state’s top prosecutor.

Salsman, who took office a year ago, was charged Feb. 3 with sexually assaulting women who were his clients in criminal and child custody cases when he worked as a defense attorney. The accusers told a grand jury that he groped them, sought nude photos, and pressured or forced them into sexual acts, sometimes on his office desk.

He pleaded guilty to reduced charges of witness intimidation, promoting prostitution and obstruction of justice, according to the attorney general's office. The prostitution charge is a felony that carries a maximum of 11 years in prison.

After Salsman was first charged, he emailed a statement from his Bradford County government address that cast the accusations as “vicious lies” and pledged to “vigorously defending myself against these false allegations.” He added: “Anyone who knows me knows that the picture the Attorney General is painting is not Chad Salsman.”

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2021-05-08T07:00:00.0000000Z

2021-05-08T07:00:00.0000000Z

https://thedailypress.pressreader.com/article/281728387392484

Alberta Newspaper Group