Prosecutor Being Investigated for Withholding Evidence

Three men were accused of kidnapping a Palomar College student in May 2008, getting her drunk and raping her. They pleaded guilty to lesser charges and walked free after serving eight months in jail.

Channel 8 reported another piece of the story Wednesday. The case’s original prosecutor is under disciplinary investigation for withholding evidence. The rape victim’s mother said the botched case led to the reduced charges for her daughter’s attackers.

Here’s an excerpt from the online transcript:

“Covering up for the department, covering up for the D.A. was their priority, not the case, not my daughter and not my family,” Tammie Heintzman said.
Kate Flaherty, (the new prosecutor who arranged the plea deals), countered, “There was concern that we could end up with acquittals across the board. And if that had happened the mother’s present unhappiness would be nothing compared to how she would have felt after that.”
Heintzman’s unhappiness is now compounded by the fact that shortly after the three defendants walked away from jail her daughter ran away from home.
“I think she felt raped again, not just by the defendants but by what she called ‘the good guys,’ ” Heintzman concluded.