COLDWATER, MI (WTVB) – Kalamazoo television station WWMT reported Tuesday that Branch County Prosecutor Ralph Kimble is being investigated by the Michigan Attorney General’s Office.
The attorney general’s office did not reveal to the TV station what they are investigating, so it’s not known if they are looking into sexual harassment allegations that have been made against Kimble.
He was taken to court by former county worker Evon Staley in late October. Staley claimed she was sexually harassed by Kimble.
Two other female workers at the Branch County Courthouse who preferred to remain anonymous later told WWMT that they were also subjected to unwanted sexual advances and harassment by Kimble.
One of the women filed a complaint with the Michigan Department of Civil Rights, which reportedly has since been dismissed, while the other resigned because of the alleged harassment.
The lawsuit filed by Staley claims acts were also directed by Kimble towards other women in the Prosecutors Office, 3-A District Court, 15th Judicial Circuit Court, Branch County Probate Court and other County agencies and departments.
Kimble denied Staley’s allegations after she filed the suit claiming it was in retaliation for her firing in November of 2016 over a marijuana bust conducted by the Southwest Michigan Enforcement Team.
Staley filed her suit in Branch County Circuit Court five days after she and three other persons were charged in connection with an alleged marijuana grow operation on her Grass Lake Road property.
