Fired Dallas County Prosecutor Claims He Was Dismissed For Party Affiliation
DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) - A former Dallas County prosecutor said party politics are getting in the way of protecting local children.
Tom Nowak, former head of the Child Abuse Division in Dallas County, said he Jon Grau, another county attorney, were fired after they attended a Republican election party.
"It was a personal hit," Nowak, 31, said. "I was basically walked out of that office like a common criminal."
A spokesperson for District Attorney Craig Watkins denies that the firings were politically motivated. Watkins is a Democrat.
"The accusation that Mr. Nowak was terminated because he attended the Republican election night party is absolutely not true," read a statement the office released Tuesday.
Nowak said he was told that he "had said some bad things about Mr. Watkins," but were not told what those may have been. As such, Nowak believes his firing was directly related to where he spent election night.
"It's no secret I was a Republican," Nowak said. "Mr. Watkins knew that himself."
Since former District Attorney Bill Hill hired him, Nowak said his conviction rate has been good. He was also recently promoted to the high-profile Child Abuse Division by Watkins himself.
Nowak was preparing to try as many as 80 child abuse cases when he was fired. He said he fears those cases will be delayed or damaged because of his dismissal.
One of which is Robert Garcia, who is awaiting trial for allegedly raping a girl. Nowak said he's spent months getting the young victim to trust him and discuss the crime.
"I enjoyed prosecuting child molesters, murderers and rapists and putting them behind bars," Nowak said. "I was good at it, and to say that somehow now it matters whether I have an R or a D next to my name is really quite sad."
