LAFAYETTE, La. — Another high-level staffer from the Attorney General’s office has resigned.
This time, it was former assistant attorney general Matthew Derbes, who has publicly admitted to being the whistleblower in the Pat Magee case. In his resignation letter, he claims that a suspect in a child pornography case was given preferential treatment for political reasons and that the case was mishandled by the AG’s office.
Although the letter does not mention his name, the case description matches with Gregory Campo Jr. of Lafayette. He was named in a 2019 warrant for possession of child pornography, and, according to The Advocate, was not arrested for nearly a year.
"The whistleblower case said that this child porn case -- he did not name it -- but, he said the case involving 20 counts, which is the Campo case, had a political motivation that affected the way it was handled,” said Andrea Gallo, a reporter for The Advocate who wassued by Jeff Landry over a public records request.
She won the suit.
During a press conference this week, she says Jeff Landry and his team avoided questions regarding sexual harassment claims.
"Rather than trying to explain with serious complaints about sexual harassment,” she said, “Attorney General Jeff Landry and a lot of his top staff spent most of the press conference attacking the people who had filed complaints of sexual harassment."
In a statement to KATC, the Attorney General's Offices denies that Campo received special treatment but did not include any details of the existence of a relationship between Landry and Campo.
"The case involving Mr. Gregory Campo Jr. was investigated and is being prosecuted by the Louisiana Department of Justice. During the course of the investigation and now prosecution, no preferential treatment was afforded to the defendant.
Early on in the case, it was brought to our attention that the defendant was in a long-term, out-of-state, residential treatment program. This along with COVID-19 slowed the process of effectuating an arrest of the defendant. Our office coordinated with the defense counsel to self-surrender his client. The client surrendered and posted a bail bond set by the judge in the amount of $80,000. The bond was consistent with similar cases of this nature in this jurisdiction."
- Marty White, the Director of the Criminal Division of the Louisiana Department of Justice.
READ MORE: UPDATE: Whistle-blower accuses AG of mishandling child porn case
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