A Pennsylvania district attorney has pleaded guilty to pressuring clients to have sex with him in his office when he was a defense attorney, and using a noise cancelling machine to muffle the sound, then coercing them to keep quiet about it.
Bradford County District Attorney Chad Salsman, who resigned from office Friday, previously claimed the allegations were a pack of 'vicious lies' and that he was the victim of a political smear by the state's top prosecutor.
Salsman, who took office a year ago, was charged February 3rd with sexually assaulting women who were his clients in criminal and child custody cases when he worked as a defense attorney.
Chad Michael Salsman, 44, a prosecutor in Bradford County, has pleaded guilty to charges of sexual and indecent assault and witness intimidation. Pictured: Salsman is escorted into Magisterial District Court, Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2021
Salsman (pictured) elected in November 2019, had admitted to charges that he manipulated several women into unwanted sexual acts and sexually assaulted them
The accusers told a grand jury that he groped them, sought nude photos, and pressured or forced them into sexual acts, sometimes on his office desk.
Salsman, elected in November 2019, manipulated several women into unwanted sexual acts and sexually assaulted them, prosecutors said.
Witnesses claimed that he would use music or a noise cancelling machine to drown out the sounds coming from his office.
After the Republican DA forced them into unwanted sex acts, he then directed them into his private bathroom to 'clean up'.
Complaints say once they had done so with paper towels and wet wipes, he then threatened the woman into silence over the incidents.
Salsman pleaded guilty to reduced charges of witness intimidation, promoting prostitution and obstruction of justice, according to the Pennsylvania attorney general's office.
Under the plea agreement, Salsman still faces a maximum sentence of 11 years in state prison and a $25,000 fine. Salsman will be sentenced July 9.
'As Attorney General, I have a responsibility to stand up for the most vulnerable in our Commonwealth. Chad Salsman used his position as a private attorney, and then as the District Attorney, to intimidate and silence his victims and interfere with our investigation. Today is a powerful reminder that no one is above the law,' said Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro.
'To date, we've arrested 90 public officials for charges related to public corruption, including embezzlement, sexual assault, and other abuses of power. My Office will continue to seek justice for victims as we uncover public corruption — wherever it lies.'
After Salsman was first charged, he emailed a statement from his Bradford County government address that cast the accusations as 'vicious lies' and pledged to 'vigorously defending myself against these false allegations.'
Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro (pictured in 2019, file photo) said in a statement: 'Despite Mr. Salsman's efforts to interfere in the investigation and his claims that the grand jury was politically motivated, today he is taking responsibility for his actions.'
He added: 'Anyone who knows me knows that the picture the Attorney General is painting is not Chad Salsman.'
But several of Salsman's staff testified to seeing women leaving his office in distress, and that their boss went to great lengths to hide the abuse during his time working for the private sector
'Many of Salsman's clients struggled with addictions, had a history of being sexually abused, or suffered from other vulnerabilities which Salsman exploited. He used his knowledge of their vulnerabilities to overcome their lack of consent and sexually assault them,' the jurors wrote in a report earlier this year.
In once instance, authorities detailed how Salsman stopped charging a client in a custody case after she began having sex with him.
They said a woman told Salsman she had been raped, and he subsequently directed her to enter his office in Towanda through a back door and undress.
Several of Salsman's staff testified to seeing women leaving his office in distress, and that their boss went to great lengths to hide the abuse during his time working for the private sector
Under the plea agreement, Salsman still faces a maximum sentence of 11 years in state prison and a $25,000 fine
'He picked these victims because they didn't have another choice,' state Attorney General Josh Shapiro told reporters at the Bradford courthouse earlier this year.
'Because he thought they would be easy to silence. And likely they would be less believed if they ever came forward.'
Salsman, 44, has been the top prosecutor in the rural county along the New York State border since early 2020.
The attorney general's office said one of the assault allegations dates to the period between Salsman's November 2019 election and his swearing-in as district attorney.
Salsman, a Republican, accused Attorney General Shapiro, a Democrat, of turning his case into a media spectacle, complaining about being handcuffed and 'paraded in front of television cameras.'
'With this admission of guilt, the Office of Attorney General has ensured Salsman faces serious consequences, without retraumatizing vulnerable victims who came forward and testified to the Grand Jury. Despite Mr. Salsman’s efforts to interfere in the investigation and his claims that the Grand Jury was politically motivated, today he is taking responsibility for his actions.'
Salsman 'pressured clients into prostitution for legal services and used his power as a private attorney, and then as district attorney, to repeatedly harass, coerce, and intimidate victims,' the attorneys general's office said.
'He has compromised the sacred public trust, and he is not fit to serve as district attorney,' Shapiro said.
The grand jury also said there were other women who recounted similar attacks, but the cases occurred too long ago for criminal charges. Salsman began practicing law in 2001.
An email was sent to Salsman's attorney seeking comment on the plea.
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