Loud Music
The Georgia Supreme Court has accepted the license surrender of a former district attorney
While serving as the District Attorney for Paulding County, Donovan was indicted on five felony counts, including allegations of bribery and false swearing. On January 6, 2022, Donovan pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of one misdemeanor count of unprofessional conduct pursuant to the First Offender Act. See OCGA § 42-8-60 (a). In connection with that plea, he admitted that he knowingly made false statements in an affidavit he prepared in response to a sexual harassment complaint filed against him.
Donovan was sentenced to 12 months on probation. One of the conditions of his sentence is that he surrender his law license. Accordingly, he has petitioned this Court for a voluntary surrender of his license.
11Alive reported on the criminal case
He was put into the spotlight after allegations surfaced of sexual harassment. A federal lawsuit from 2019 was settled out of court. The GBI and Carr’s office started investigating the then-district attorney. He was accused flying under oath when he denied sexually harassing her. Officials also previously accused of trying to help the woman of a shoplifting charge by bribing the prosecutor on that case, not with cash but with other incentives.
In June, 11Alive’s investigative team The Reveal, uncovered other bribery allegations connected Donovan. There were claims that Donovan accepted a bribe in 2013 to reduce charges against two people connected to a shooting. Court records showed several agencies requested GBI to look into the allegations. Last year, state investigators closed that case without filing charges, but video evidence pointed to claims of a quid pro quo between the then-district attorney and the owner of a Paulding County car dealership.
The same source also covered recordings made by an employee in support of the sexual harassment allegations
All of Donovan’s charges are loosely connected to Jamie White, a former victim’s advocate who accused him of sexual harassment while working in his office.
Starting in 2017, White recorded audio of their conversations she later used as evidence in a complaint and lawsuit against the county.
11Alive’s investigative team, The Reveal, obtained the recordings from a law office which represents Paulding County government through a public record request. It included five audio files, totaling more than 2.5 hours of conversations.
All of the recordings appear to have taken place in Donovan’s county office without his knowledge. In many of the recordings, the district attorney turns on music by Franz Liszt, a Hungarian classical composer.
The music is so loud at times, it often makes their discussions difficult to hear and likely hard for Donovan’s staff to listen from behind closed doors.
The Patch had details of alleged intervention by him in connection with White’s shoplifting arrest and the settlement of the civil claims. (Mike Frisch)