Prosecutor accused of using affair in case

CHEHALIS — Lewis County Prosecutor Michael Golden has been accused in court papers of using a sexual relationship with the mother of a 17-year-old charged with arson to gain information about the case.

Kristine Wallace told her son's defense attorney, Jonathan Meyer, about the relationship after her son entered guilty pleas. Meyer filed two motions on July 31 in Lewis County Superior Court, one calling for the case to be dismissed and the other asking that the prosecutor's office be disqualified.

Golden has denied any wrongdoing.

Wallace said in a declaration filed with the court that she had detailed conversations with Golden about her son Zachary Hughes' case. She said she shared information with Golden about conversations she had with her son's attorney and had text-message conversations with Golden after court appearances.

"I was shocked," Meyer said, concerning Kristine Wallace's statement. "This is the first time I've heard of something like this."

"The relationship was one thing," Meyer added. "What makes it more infuriating is that he used the relationship to gain information about the case."

Golden did not immediately return a telephone call from The Associated Press to his office in Chehalis on Monday. He told radio station KITI, which reported the accusations Monday, that he had a relationship with the woman but ended it when Hughes was arrested. Golden said he ordered deputy prosecutors not to give the boy special treatment.

Meyer said Wallace was upset and brought the information to him after she realized the damage her relationship was causing to her son.

"I allowed my feelings for a man to distort my commitment to my child and caused me to do things and say things that destroyed his chances at justice," she wrote in her statement to the court.

Wallace plans to file an ethics complaint with the state Bar Association, according to her attorney, Joseph Mano.