Toni Nelson waves to a friend as they enter the Morton Relay for Life in 2012.
The Lewis County Sheriff’s Office confirmed this week that it is assisting Prosecutor Jonathan Meyer in investigating whether a long-time expert witness and victim advocate lied about her qualifications on and off the witness stand.
Meyer told the Chronicle this week that prominent East Lewis County community member Toni Nelson misrepresented her qualifications as an expert witness and adviser to the Prosecutor’s Office.
“We’re still in the fact finding part of this and still looking into the matter,” Sheriff Rob Snaza told The Chronicle Tuesday. “It’s touchy. We’ve known Toni for a long time. It’s just unfortunate.”
The Sheriff’s Office is assisting in the Prosecutor’s Office’s investigation by checking its own records to see how many cases Nelson was involved in, and whether she provided false information to the agency directly.
“They’re helping us try to figure out how widespread this issue is,” Meyer said. “We’re not looking to file charges, but if information comes up that leads us to believe there was criminal activity that occurred, we’ll look into that.”
Nelson’s attorney, Shane O’Rourke, said Wednesday that it’s good news for his client that investigators are not currently pursuing specific charges.
Meyer told The Chronicle this week that Nelson told his office she was a registered nurse, had a nursing degree from Boise State University, had a degree in education and that she was a certified teacher. She also testified that she was working on a master’s degree. In reality, the prosecutor said, she has a two-year college degree.
Meyer discovered the alleged lies after someone came forward with information, and he confirmed them after an interview with Nelson in late January.
Meyer has notified all courts in Lewis County, state appeals and supreme courts, local attorneys and defendants and families who could be affected by the issue.
He told The Chronicle Nelson testified as an expert witness, listing her inflated credentials under oath on the witness stand, four times. She was involved in as many as 63 cases over 20 years, he said, all of which may be affected by the allegations.
“She’s been a huge advocate for children,” Snaza said. “I don’t want to take away the good things she’s done for people.”
Snaza said he was “heartbroken” over the allegations.
Nelson is a cancer survivor who co-founded the East Lewis County Relay for Life. She has been involved with the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office’s 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.
“Good people make bad decisions sometimes. This unfortunately is one of those incidents,” Snaza said. “I hope her testimony … alone as an expert hopefully did not convict someone.”
