Virginia Lawmaker Wins Election from Jail Cell on Sex Crime Charges

A Virginia politician has won reelection despite being incarcerated on charges relating to sexual misconduct with an underage employee of his.

The New York Times reports that Joseph Morrissey, who resigned from the Virginia House of Delegates about a month ago, won a special election that was intended to select his replacement after he pled guilty to the misdemeanor of contributing to the delinquency of a minor.

Prosecutors in his case originally sought a wide range of felony charges after he was accused of having sexual relations with his 17-year-old secretary and carrying around naked photos of the girl on his phone. Morrissey claims the receptionist's phone was hacked by a jilted lover who then sent the images to Morrissey's phone.

As part of the plea deal, Morrissey was sentenced to a year in prison, with six months suspended. Morrissey was able to run for office because part of his sentence called for work-release, which allows people to work during the day and report back to prison at a given time each night. For Morrissey, the magic hour is 7:30 p.m.

The former Democrat was able to run and win the special election to replace him by dropping his party affiliation and running as an independent. In the election held Jan. 14, Morrissey secured 43 percent of the vote, and victory.

Although a former Democrat, the Democratic delegates want nothing to do with Morrissey and have teamed up with their Republican counterparts in an effort to prevent Morrissey from serving the public as a representative, or severely constraining his ability to do so through measures like official censure.

Morrissey has a bit of a checkered past. Among his many antics are showing up to the House of Delegates with an AK-47 and getting in a fight with a fellow lawyer in court.