Toni Nelson poses for a portrait on the Morton High School track prior to the start of the Relay for Life in July 2012.
A prominent East Lewis County woman who worked with the Lewis County Prosecutor’s Office as a victim’s advocate and expert witness for decades lied about her qualifications both on and off the witness stand, affecting at least five dozen cases in the past 20 years, said Lewis County Prosecutor Jonathan Meyer.
Meyer has sent letters to all courts in Lewis County, the Washington State Court of Appeals and the State Supreme Court, informing them that the Prosecutor’s Office is attempting to compile all cases involving Toni Nelson, a woman who has been at the forefront of community service groups for years.
“We presented perjured testimony,” Meyer told The Chronicle Monday. “Our main goal right now is to get the notices out there and make sure these folks are aware of what has happened, and then we will start dealing with the aftermath.”
Meyer said he is not required to notify the courts, but did so out of an “abundance of caution,” saying that Nelson’s testimony and assistance, given on false pretenses, may have swayed a jury, or influenced a case that didn’t go to trial.
“We don’t know how widespread this is,” he said.
Nelson is known to many as a vocal cancer survivor who co-founded the East Lewis County Relay for Life.
She has been involved with the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office Shop with a Cop program and was awarded the Sheriff’s Office Citizenship Service Medal in 2010. She has been affiliated with the Human Response Network, the Youth Advocacy Center and Fresh Start LLC. She was a member of the Lewis County Bar Legal Aid, was an advocate for victims of domestic violence and sexual assault at the White pass Community Services Coalition and was nominated for the Washington State Jefferson Award.
“This is somebody who I’ve known for quite a long time and … somebody who’s basically from all accounts I have heard up to this point has dedicated her entire life or her entire career toward helping people,” said Nelson’s attorney, Shane O’Rourke.
O’Rourke said he advised his client not to directly comment to the media.
The Lewis County Sheriff’s Office confirmed it is conducting an investigation on Nelson, but did not release the reason for that investigation.
O’Rourke said he was not aware of an investigation.
A search of Lewis County’s records found that Nelson was involved in some capacity in a total of 63 cases going back 20 years, based on the now-discredited qualifications, Meyer said, including four trials in which she was called as an expert witness.
All of the cases involved sexual abuse.
“That’s as far as our records go back,” he said.
The Prosecutor’s Office first became aware of the allegations in mid-December.
“Someone brought it to our attention that this person might have been dishonest in her background and qualifications,” he said.
On Jan. 26, Meyer said he met with Nelson, and said he was able to conclusively prove that those allegations were true.
O’Rourke said he could not comment on the substance of the allegations, his client’s qualifications as an expert witness, or whether she, in fact, lied on the witness stand.
“I think they need to look at that really carefully because those are big statements,” he said. “I think it just boils down to the specifics of their investigation.”
On the witness stand, Nelson falsely testified that she was a registered nurse, had a nursing degree from Boise State University, had a degree in education and said she was a certified teacher, Meyer said.
She also falsely testified that she was working on a master’s degree, Meyer said.
The Prosecutor’s Office does not do in-depth checks to verify the qualifications of its expert witnesses and instead relies on their resumes, Meyer said.
“I think this is just somebody who did what they could and dedicated all their time and energy to doing the right thing,” O’Rourke said. “Beyond that it’s a wait and see.”
The statute of limitations on perjury is three years, meaning Meyer cannot file criminal charges against Nelson.
In three of the cases in which Nelson was called as an expert witness, the defendants were convicted.
They are State of Washington v. James Dean Hamrick, State v. Leonard Coleman, and State v. Barry Royce Dragoo. The fourth case ended in an acquittal, Meyer said.
One of the convicted defendants has since died.
“I think the jury would have reached the same decision (on those cases), but I’m not going to substitute my judgement for the jury’s,” he said.
Meyer has also notified the defendants or their relatives about the false testimony.
“As these cases come up, we’re trying to find contact info so we can tell people their case may have been impacted,” Meyer said. “It’s up to the people impacted to decide what they’re going to do next.”
O’Rourke said he thinks everybody involved hopes the cases will not be affected by the allegations.
“I don’t know if that means from a legal standpoint that convictions get overturned,” he said. “It’s really, really hard to overturn a conviction.”
Meyer said at least one civil attorney has contacted him about additional civil cases Nelson may have participated in.
Nelson last testified in 2010.
“All of her testimony came prior to my coming into office,” Meyer noted.
Nelson gave testimony in each of the cases on late-reporting of sexual abuse, he said.
Meyer told the Chronicle that Nelson’s involvement in cases that did not go to trial could also have influenced plea agreements or other aspects of cases.
“I don’t know why someone would do this, period. It boggles my mind,” he said. “When you’re willing to lie about something like this, you’re willing to lie about anything.”
