Webster Co. sheriff ordered removed from office, still running

MARSHFIELD, Mo. -- The Webster County sheriff was removed from office for misconduct Friday, but the ouster may not last long.

Judge William Hass ordered Sheriff Ron Worsham out of office immediately, ruling that the state presented sufficient evidence during an August trial to find him guilty of neglect of office.

Worsham, who has been in law enforcement for 31 years, won the Aug. 3 Republican primary for the office. Even if re-elected, state law forbids him from returning to office until Dec. 31, when county officials are sworn in, said Scott Holste, a spokesman for Missouri Attorney General Jay Nixon.

So far, Worsham faces an independent candidate and a write-in candidate in November; the deadline for becoming a write-in is Oct. 22.

Webster County commissioners met Friday and picked former highway patrolman John Walker as his replacement effective immediately.

The attorney general's office sought Worsham's removal. It said the sheriff neglected his duties and either ignored or concealed what attorneys called "buffoonery" among some employees.

Attorneys cited Worsham's decision to hire a former chaplain, William Rethford, even though he knew the 65-year-old minister had a criminal history.

Rethford was charged in January with misdemeanor sexual misconduct, assault and witness tampering after he was accused of inappropriately touching a male inmate. The charges were dropped Thursday after the alleged victim refused to testify against Rethford, who had maintained his innocence.

The state also claimed, among other things, that Worsham let inmates out of jail without proper supervision, in one case allowing a murder suspect to go to have her hair done.

Worsham has said the accusations were unfounded.

His attorney, Jean Paul Bradshaw, did not immediately return a call Friday from The Associated Press.

Nixon said the ruling is a "direct rebuke of former Sheriff Worsham for misconduct and malfeasance he committed while in office." Nixon also said it showed such activity will not be tolerated in the ranks of law enforcement.