Missouri governor indicted
Allegedly took compromising photo of mistress
ST. LOUIS — A St. Louis grand jury has indicted Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens on a felony invasion of privacy charge for allegedly taking a compromising photo of a woman with whom he had an affair in 2015, the city circuit attorney’s office said yesterday.
St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner launched an investigation in January after Greitens admitted to an affair with his St. Louis hairdresser that began in March 2015. He was elected governor in November 2016. Gardner declined comment beyond a brief news release.
Greitens’ attorney issued a scathing statement challenging the indictment.
“In 40 years of public and private practice, I have never seen anything like this,” attorney Edward L. Dowd Jr. said in a statement. “The charges against my client are baseless and unfounded. My client is absolutely innocent. We will be filing a motion to dismiss.”
The indictment states that on March 21, 2015, Greitens photographed a woman identified only by her initials “in a state of full or partial nudity” without her knowledge or consent. The indictment said Greitens “transmitted the image contained in the photograph in a manner that allowed access to that image via a computer.”
The penalty for first-degree invasion of privacy in Missouri is up to four years in prison.
Greitens was taken into custody in St. Louis and released on his own recognizance, said Susan Ryan, a spokeswoman for Gardner.
In 2015, the woman told her husband, who was secretly taping the conversation, that Greitens took the compromising photo of her at his home and threatened to use it as blackmail if she spoke about the affair. Gardner’s news release said it is a felony if a person transmits an image “in a manner that allows access to that image via a computer.”
Greitens, 43, has repeatedly denied blackmailing the woman, but has repeatedly refused to answer questions about whether he took a photo. He admitted to the affair on the night of Jan. 10, shortly after he delivered the State of the State address to lawmakers.
At least five Republican legislators and several Democrats called for Greitens to step down after he admitted to the affair. He has said he will not resign.
A former boxer and martial arts expert, Greitens portrayed himself as a maverick during the campaign. He joined the Navy in 2001 and as a SEAL officer was wounded in Iraq six years later. Greitens and his wife, Sheena, have two sons, Joshua and Jacob.