UPDATED: 10/10/2024 — 9:07 p.m.
BECKLEY, W.Va. –The Raleigh County Commission is seeking to remove county Prosecutor Ben Hatfield from office.
The commission filed a petition Thursday to begin the process which could result in the chief justice of the state Supreme Court naming a three-judge panel to hear the allegations.
The commission alleges misconduct and neglect of duties against Hatfield.
The petition cites a domestic violence petition being issued against Hatfield after it was filed by a woman describing herself as a sexual partner. The commission also alleges Hatfield created a hostile work environment.
According to the petition, Hatfield has a full hearing scheduled for September 23 before Judge Harley Stollings. The petition states that, on September 17, the same woman alleged Hatfield “stared steadily at her for at least three seconds and pursed his lips as if to blow a kiss” at the YMCA Paul Cline Sports Complex in Beckley. An additional petition was filed against Hatfield.
During the September 23 hearing, over five hours of testimony was given, and Judge Stollings ultimately granted a 180-day protective order against Hatfield. The protective order was based on Hatfield’s actions being deemed intentional and intended to threaten or intimidate the woman.
Additionally, the Raleigh County Commission received a letter on August 22 from Just For Kids Child Advocacy Center that requested Hatfield refrain from being at its office. That request came after an “anonymous threat against one of its employees at its center prior to the hearing.”
The West Virginia Commission of Special Investigators and the West Virginia Office of Lawyer Disciplinary Council have ongoing investigators into Hatfield’s alleged official misconduct and neglect of duty,
Hatfield, who voluntarily took some time off last month, has denied the allegations.
Hatfield is running for a second term in next month’s election. A write-in candidate has filed to run against him.