LONGVIEW — The Lewis County Prosecutor Attorney’s Office dropped sexual assault charges Tuesday against former Cowlitz County Court Administrator Chad Connors regarding alleged crimes that occurred around 13 years ago.
His attorney Angus Lee of Vancouver said Connors is aiming to get his old job back, after he was placed on leave in February. Lee said there “is no victim, no crime.”
Connors, a former high ranking Cowlitz County Superior Court official, was charged in April with two counts of first-degree child rape and two counts of a different felony child abuse, all involving a child around age 9. Connors has maintained his innocence ever since.
Lewis County Superior Court Judge James Lawler granted the case dismissal without prejudice Tuesday after Lewis County prosecutors filed the request Friday. Without prejudice means Connors could be charged with the same alleged crimes again.
The state’s request for dismissal says additional interviews conducted since the charges were filed revealed issues not addressed in the initial investigation and “despite the concerning allegations,” the state doesn’t believe the current evidence would likely result in a guilty verdict.
Lee said in a statement that “revelations” during witness interviews showed that the accuser’s account of the alleged abuses was based on dreams, and therefore not credible. In court documents the accuser reports the alleged abuses were initially thought to be dreams, but later understood to be memories.
Court documents also show the accuser was diagnosed with a medical condition commonly found in sexual abuse victims, but can be found in people without abuse history.
The alleged crimes occurred from 2009 to 2011 in Cowlitz County but were not reported until February, according to the investigation’s report.
The Clark County Sheriff’s Office investigated and a report was sent to the Lewis County Prosecuting Attorney’s office in late March. Lewis County Prosecuting Attorney Jonathan Meyer charged Connors in April.
Connors said in a statement he is frustrated he was charged due to an incomplete investigation, though Meyer maintains there was enough probable cause to file charges.
Connors is “thankful to God for sustaining me during this trial” and he is “grieving for his family and hoping for healing for all involved,” the statement reads.
The state also terminated the sexual assault protection order, filed on May 4, against Connors to protect the accuser. Connors and the accuser knew each other prior to the alleged abuses.
Connors started working for Superior Court — which reviews cases like felony crimes, civil matters over $75,000, family law and juvenile criminal cases — in 2005.
