Virginia's Joe Morrissey admitted on Wednesday morning that he is the father of a child with a teenage girl who was his former secretary, though he denied that he had a sexual relationship with the girl while fighting the charges in court.
Morrissey faced multiple felony charges that could have put him behind bars for up to 41 years, but reached a plea agreement that reduced his time in jail to less than a year and allowed him to maintain his seat in the Virginia House of Delegates.
Morrissey released a pictures to NBC 12 of him holding the baby alongside his former secretary:
And Joe Morrissey released a new photo today of himself holding his baby with his former secretary. Only in #RVA. pic.twitter.com/N8hVQCUo0b
— Rachel DePompa (@RachelDePompa) May 20, 2015
Now officially a family portrait-Joe Morrissey says on @JackGravelyShow he is the father of his fmr secretary's child pic.twitter.com/cRHxcNuOXi
— Joe St. George (@JoeStGeorge) May 20, 2015
It is unclear why they are wearing those outfits.
Morrissey agreed to a special plea agreement which allowed him to accept guilt for the charges without admitting to the charge that he had sex with the girl, Myrna Pride, were true. Throughout his campaign to maintain his seat, which he ran out of a jail cell, he denied that the allegations were true.
Morrissey won reelection as an Independent because Virginia Democrats chose another candidate.
Even after traveling to be with Pride, during the birth of the child, Morrissey maintained he had never had a sexual relationship with the girl.
A special prosecutor is currently seeking to bring perjury charges against Morrissey for using forged documents during the legal battle to reduce his charges.
_
UPDATE 1:10 p.m.: This post has been updated to include a picture released by Morrissey on Wednesday.