Missouri’s attorney general announced July 20 that she was legally challenging a county prosecutor’s right to hold public office and seeking to permanently remove her, after the prosecutor’s temporary removal following allegations of an affair with an illegal immigrant under prosecution for sexual assault.
A judge approved Johnston’s temporary removal July 16 after allegations surfaced of her conduct in office.
Johnston may also be facing criminal charges after giving her lover the title to her car to help him flee the state to escape the charges, according to the state’s attorney general.
“When an elected official treats public office like their personal playground, betraying the public trust, ignoring legal obligations, and putting self-interest first, removal isn’t a suggestion, it’s a necessity,” Hanaway said in a statement.
She is being accused of misconduct, malfeasance, misfeasance, and nonfeasance in office in the small county of about 23,400 residents.
“Johnston’s record reflects a sustained pattern of misconduct and willful neglect that has undermined the integrity of the prosecutor’s office and poses a serious threat to public safety,” Hanaway said. “In Missouri, public office is public trust, not a personal entitlement, and no one is above accountability.”
Johnston did not return a request for comment by publication time. Her attorney, Chad Gardner, also did not return a request for comment.
The petition alleges Johnston became involved in a romantic and intimate relationship with “J.G.,” a Mexican national accused of sexual assault.
Private investigator James Murray was contracted with an attorney representing the Ray County Sheriff and was volunteering his services to the Ray County Sheriff’s Department when he spoke to Johnston about Gutierrez, according to her defamation lawsuit against him.
Johnston said she told Murray during his investigation about her relationship with Gutierrez and that “she terminated the relationship due to his violence,” but she wasn’t aware of the sexual assault allegations, according to the lawsuit. Johnston case was settled in June 2026 and was dismissed by the court.
J.G., a Mexican citizen, had been in the United States illegally since 2019, according to the attorney general’s petition. He and Johnston lived together at one time.
Despite knowing J.G. was under investigation and possible prosecution for sexual assault, Johnston didn’t tell law enforcement where he was. She visited him in Mississippi in 2023, when she gave him her car and signed over the title, according to the petition.
The conduct could constitute a felony for hindering prosecution by harboring or concealing another person or providing transportation to avoid apprehension, according to the attorney general’s petition.
Johnston didn’t bring any criminal charges against him because of her relationship, according to the petition.
The circuit court disqualified Johnston and her office from prosecuting J.G., but not at her request, the court document states.
“This assistance in absconding included making a vehicle available to J.G. so that he could abscond and with knowledge that he would likely return to his native country of Mexico to avoid detection and apprehension,” the petition states.
J.G. was arrested in Ohio in 2024, and he is awaiting his next court hearing on the sexual assault charges.
Johnston also allegedly had a romantic relationship with a man listed as C.W., a prospective defendant charged with acts of domestic violence against his wife.
An employee in Johnston’s office was fired when she discovered that the employee had found out about the relationship, according to the court filing.
Local law enforcement officers became aware of the prosecutor’s relationship with C.W. and called for the appointment of a special prosecuting attorney for his case.
The petition also claims Johnston was having an ongoing romantic relationship with a criminal defense attorney representing numerous criminal defendants in matters prosecuted by Johnston.
“This undisclosed relationship creates, at the very least, an obvious appearance of a conflict of interest,” the petition states.
Johnston did not recuse herself from cases involving the attorney, according to the petition.
The attorney general also alleged that Johnston created an atmosphere in her office of fear and intimidation by verbally berating her staff and employees.
