Mirror photo by Greg Bock / Former Bedford County District Attorney William Higgins leaves magisterial district court in Everett on Wednesday morning after he was arraigned on 31 misdemeanor charges that include 11 counts of obstruction of law enforcement and nine counts of intimidation of a witness.

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BEDFORD — For 14 years, William Higgins prosecuted criminals as Bedford County’s district attorney.

On Wednesday, the 43-year-old Higgins found himself on the opposite side of the courtroom when he appeared in magisterial district court as a defendant accused of using his position to help multiple women avoid arrest and even jail in exchange for sex. Others received more lenient sentences.

“This is unconscionable conduct by a district attorney — someone whose job it is to uphold the law, not to obstruct it, not to advise people to lie in the process. Yet, that’s exactly what he did,” Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro said Wednesday afternoon during a press conference at the Bedford County Courthouse.

Higgins turned himself in at District Court in Everett just after 9 a.m. Wednesday, accompanied by his attorney Steven Passarello, for arraignment on 31 misdemeanor charges that include 11 counts of obstruction of law enforcement, nine counts of intimidation of a witness, six counts of hindering prosecution, three counts of recklessly endangering another person and two counts of official oppression.

Passarello told Judge Kathy Calhoun that his client would be pleading not guilty and would be waiving his right to a preliminary hearing. Higgins, who was released on a unsecured $50,000 bond, did not speak.

By late morning, Higgins had resigned as district attorney.

“I have been accused of engaging in conduct unbecoming of a district attorney, but more importantly, unbecoming of a husband and father,” Higgins said in an emailed statement. He went on to add he trusted the criminal justice system and could not comment further on the allegations.

Higgins said his focus now is to strengthen his relationship with his family.

Investigation lasted years

Lesley Childers-Potts, assistant district attorney, will be in charge of the district attorney’s office in Higgins’ place.

The case against Higgins spans several years as state police gathered evidence that culminated in a statewide investigative grand jury that heard testimony from several women who said they had intimate relationships with Higgins and that he actively helped them navigate rocky legal waters when they appeared as defendants in Bedford County court.

“This is a troubling case that demonstrates a pattern of abuse by a top law enforcement official of Bedford County,” said Maj. Douglas Burig, director of the state police Bureau of Criminal Investigation. “The defendant took advantage of his position to access confidential law enforcement sensitive information, which he used to manipulate women with pending criminal cases in the county. Moreover, the defendant manipulated the system to gain leverage over vulnerable women. He thwarted drug investigations by refusing to sign search warrants and offering overly lenient plea bargains to women he targeted and pressured them to lie during the course of this case. Beyond his blatant misuse of the legal system, the defendant in this case put the lives of the police and confidential informants at risk when he repeatedly leaked their identities and the details of their investigations to drug dealers so they could avoid apprehension. Again, the defendant’s subversive goal was to gain control over women to avoid prosecution.”

Burig appeared in Bedford County along with Shapiro on Wednesday to talk about the investigation, and both reassured county residents that they hoped the charges would be a start in restoring the public’s faith in the criminal justice system in the county.

‘Polluted and corrupt’

Higgins’ attorney called the sources of the allegations “polluted and corrupt.”

“It’s an interesting story that they tell,” Passarello said. “However, you have to take a look at the source of the allegations and credibility of the sources.”

Passarello pointed out the allegations are being made by convicted criminals who were prosecuted by Higgins, including drug addicts, as well as members of law enforcement “that should not be throwing stones.”

He said it is no secret that a hostile relationship between Higgins and certain members of law enforcement in Bedford County has existed for several years, including with some of those who testified at the grand jury.

Passarello said Higgins waived his preliminary hearing, not as Shapiro suggested because the case was so strong, but because it’s a case that hinges on credibility.

“As you know, credibility is not an issue at a preliminary hearing,” Passarello said.

It is not the first time Higgins has faced accusations.

In 2008, a woman claimed that she was raped by Higgins. In 2009, after a six-month investigation, the Attorney General’s Office announced that the allegations had been disproven.

Shapiro said Wednesday that investigation was separate from the latest probe.

The charges filed Wednesday spotlight alleged misconduct with three women, all who were involved in dealing drugs, according to the affidavit of probable cause filed by state police investigators.

Favorable deals

Investigators allege one of the women who testified at the grand jury said that Higgins also helped her friends receive favorable plea deals in court. Investigators allege Higgins asked a state police narcotics investigator not to file drug delivery charges against the woman after the trooper had an informant buy Suboxone off her in 2013. The woman had received a standard sentence on a felony burglary case — six to 23 months — while Higgins told the trooper he prosecuted the woman and she got a strict sentence.

It was about this time that Higgins and the woman, referred to in court records as “Female 1,” were chatting through Snapchat. According to the charges, Higgins “repeatedly commented on her appearance and later made comments that were sexual in nature.” The woman then exchanged naked photos with Higgins and ultimately performed oral sex on him, prosecutors allege.

The woman also testified that Higgins helped her friends with favorable plea deals. Prosecutors also allege Higgins intervened when the woman was arrested in another county while she was on probation. He allegedly instructed Bedford County Probation Supervisor Keith Bowser not to issue her a violation her over the arrest.

Higgins is accused of telling Female 1 the identity of a police informant so when state police attempted to conduct a controlled buy from her, she refused to sell drugs to the informant.

Higgins also attempted to get all three to deny their relationships with him when they were called to testify before the grand jury, prosecutors allege. For the woman called “Female 3,” Higgins allegedly refused to authorize a search warrant sought by state police in June 2015 for the woman’s house, where two other sources had indicated a large amount of cocaine and heroin was being kept.

Later, at the Bedford County Courthouse, Higgins allegedly told the woman that he “saved her ass.” When she asked him about what he meant, he told her he had refused to sign the warrant.

Texts, calls recorded

Along with testimony from the women, police used recorded calls, texts and Snapchat messages to gather evidence. In one conversation with Female 3, Higgins allegedly was caught helping the woman determine what to say after she was served with a subpoena for the grand jury.

The grand jury also heard from an attorney who represented Female 3 in a drug case who testified Higgins talked about the grand jury investigation and admitted he had a sexual relationship with the woman. Higgins allegedly asked the attorney to try to find out if investigators had her cellphone and if texts had been deleted.

Higgins is then accused of working to get the woman a lower sentence than she normally would have received after a 2017 arrest for selling crack cocaine and heroin.

“District Attorney Higgins was motivated by sex,” Shapiro said. “He traded his power and law enforcement authority for sexual favors and violated his oath to the people of Bedford County. He compromised the security of his community and the safety of confidential informants. These are not charges based on minor transgressions or the testimony of one individual. These are charges that result from a thorough investigation conducted over the course of several years. Throughout the course of investigation, we learned of at least nine instances during which District Attorney Higgins provided the names of confidential informants to known drug dealers whom he was having sex with or to their friends or associates. In addition to providing those names, he arranged for some of the women to receive lighter sentences and favorable bail amounts.”

Shapiro and Burig both said the residents of Bedford County deserved better.

“No one is above the law,” Shapiro said, adding his office continues to work to hold office-holders accountable, whether they be Democrats or Republicans. “This office applies the law without fear and without favor. As attorney general, I will not allow any individuals in positions of power to abuse their public office, and we will continue to prosecute anyone who violates the law and continue to place an emphasis on rooting out public corruption across the commonwealth in Pennsylvania. This is the second district attorney we’ve arrested in a year.”

Shapiro said the investigation is ongoing and urged anyone who has experienced wrongdoing by Higgins or knows of something they want to report, to call 724-332-7252.

Mirror Staff Writer Greg Bock is at 946-7458. Mirror Staff Writer Shen Wu Tan is at 946-7457.

FROM ACCUSER TO ACCUSED

Investigators allege Higgins:

— Traded sex for favors with female drug dealers.

— Revealed the identities of nine police informants.

— Tried to get women to hide illicit relationships from grand jury

and police.

— Refused to sign search warrant to protect a dealer.