Page County Sheriff Daniel Presgraves has been indicted on 22 federal charges, including conspiracy and money laundering, some of which are linked to a cockfighting operation.
Among the charges announced Thursday were accusations that Presgraves took bribes from operators of the Little Boxwood cockfighting pit.
In exchange, the government claims he allegedly promised not to interfere with the cockfighting operation.
In a press conference Thursday, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Virginia Julia Dudley explained, "According to the indictment, Presgraves was aware of the cockfighting pits and by allegedly taking bribes and steering law enforcement away from it, was a member of the conspiracy that kept Little Boxwood in operation."
Dudley goes on to explain that over the course of several years, Presgraves allegedly physically, verbally and sexually harassed 12 subordinate female employees at the Page County Sheriff's Office and intimidated to keep them quiet.
"Presgraves told his victims whatever information they had about him that could be useful to the feds should be taken to the grave," said Dudley.
Another allegation against Presgraves is that he would take inmates from the Page County Jail to do manual labor on his home.
"Presgraves did not disclose to the Department of Corrections that these particular inmates were performing personal work for him and his family and others," commented Dudley.
Dudley assured Page County residents Thursday that Presgraves will be held accountable for his actions.
She said, "They must know that their elected officials are being held to the highest legal and ethical standards and they must know that even when high-ranking members of law enforcement are accused of breaking the law, they will be prosecuted."
Presgraves was arrested early Thursday morning by FBI agents.
He has been charged with six counts of obstructing a law enforcement investigation, four counts of obstructing an investigation by a federal grand jury, four counts of violating civil rights of female subordinates at the Page County Sheriff's Office, two counts of making false statements, two counts of conspiracy, two counts of mail fraud, one count of money laundering, and one count of violating federal racketeering laws.
Presgraves faces 304 years in prison and a $2 million fine if convicted on all of the charges. He was arraigned Thursday afternoon and is currently free on a $50,000 bond.
The judge said he does not have the power to remove Presgraves from his elected office. However, one of the stipulations of Presgraves' bond is that he cannot go near or be inside the sheriff's office.
A court date has not been set yet, but since Presgraves did not waive his right to a speedy trial, he is expected in court within the next 69 days.
http://www.whsv.com/news/headlines
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