A former Capital High School student who, last August, a jury found not guilty of a sexual assault at the school, is suing the attorneys he claims rushed him into a plea deal with prosecutors.
Dallas King was 17 when, on Feb. 4, 2015, Kanawha County prosecutors charged him with second-degree sexual assault.
While represented by Charleston lawyers Trent Redman and Michael Payne, of the firm Redman & Payne PLLC, King pleaded guilty on March 17, 2015 to first-degree sexual abuse.
King filed a lawsuit late last month against Redman and Payne in Kanawha Circuit Court. The complaint claims the lawyers breached the contract they entered into with King by, among other things, failing to investigate the allegations against him.
Prior to the date King was told he had to decide whether to take the deal, on March 13, Redman and Payne allegedly provided no information showing King the magnitude of the prosecution's case against him, according to the lawsuit.
The lawyers allegedly told King that if he didn't take the deal, under which he agreed to be transferred to adult status, "he could serve decades in prison," King's complaint states.
Five days later, Patricia King, King's mother, emailed the lawyers asking them to request a hearing be set to allow her son to back out of the plea. The lawsuit states the woman never got a response and, in turn, sought other counsel for her son.
King hired Charleston lawyer Kitty Dooley and, after a hearing, Kanawha Circuit Judge Jennifer Bailey allowed King to back out of the guilty plea he made March 17, 2015 to first-degree sexual abuse.
The abuse charge carried a possible one- to five-year jail sentence. Prosecutors said it was offered to keep the alleged victim from having to testify at a trial.
King was represented during the trial last year by Charleston lawyer Dan Holstein.
The lawsuit also accuses Redman and Payne of never coming up with a competent defense strategy and, among other claims, incorrectly informing King that, under the deal offered by prosecutors, he would only have to register as a sex offender for 10 years, as opposed to the rest of his life.
Redman said last week that neither he nor Payne would comment on the lawsuit. King is represented by Parkersburg lawyer Ginny Conley.
King claims he suffered public humiliation and embarrassment, was denied early enlistment with the U.S. Army and, because of the lawyers alleged actions, experienced anxiety and depression.
The lawsuit is assigned to Kanawha Circuit Judge Joanna Tabit.
Reach Kate White at kate.white@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-1723 or follow @KateLWhite on Twitter.