FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Contact:

Emma O’Brien
emma@kansasdems.org
November 4, 2022

NEW REPORT: DEREK SCHMIDT HIRED, PROTECTED CHILD SEXUAL PREDATORS IN AG’S OFFICE

“…One of [Schmidt’s] first hires was Kyle G. Smith, who became the deputy director at the Kansas Bureau of Investigation. One small problem — three years later, Smith would be charged with sexual exploitation of a child.”

Topeka, KS – A new ground-breaking report reveals that Derek Schmidt’s third in command in the Office of the Attorney General, Kyle G. Smith, was later charged with sexual exploitation of a child. This is in addition to another Assistant Attorney General, Christine Ladner, who committed prosecutorial misconduct under Schmidt’s leadership, which resulted in the reversal of 15 charges of sexual crimes against children.

This is only part of a concerning track record of Schmidt failing the people of Kansas: a new report revealed Schmidt has continued to employ Edmond Brancart as a prosecutor even after a Kansas judge ruled that he “engaged in serious prosecutorial misconduct to win a wrongful conviction.” This is despite calls for Brancart’s removal from the family of the innocent man Brancart sent to jail for 12 years for a crime he did not commit. Dee Coones, the widow of Pete Coones who was wrongly convicted, said of Schmidt: “The Attorney General of Kansas, current or future, should be familiar with the people they’ve entrusted with the responsibility of enforcing the law.”

“It’s deeply alarming that a senior member of Derek Schmidt’s office – who Schmidt himself hired – was charged with sexual exploitation of a child,” said Emma O’Brien, spokesperson for the KDP. “Schmidt must explain why he kept this a secret – having never commented or apologized to the people of Kansas. What did Schmidt know and when did he know it?”

Read more here, or key quotes below: 

  • “Kansas Republican Derek Schmidt is hoping to become governor of the state of Kansas, but when it comes to evaluating his track record as a leader of the attorney general’s office, new questions have come up questioning his ability to organize and lead.”
  • “The case may have been over, but after an appeal, the Kansas Supreme Court ruled unanimously that the Kansas Attorney General’s office had engaged in practices that amounted to reversible prosecutor misconduct.”
  • “The case, which originally could have resulted in the maximum equivalent of two lifetimes of prison ended up quite differently, as at a retrial in 2014, he received a registration for his offense against one child and now currently resides in Hutchinson, Kansas, according to the Kansas Bureau of Information.”
  • “Derek Schmidt, in control of the office, kept Ladner on in her role until 2016, years after the conviction was overturned and the losses were felt.” 
  • “This wouldn’t be the first problem in Schmidt’s office, where one of his first hires was Kyle G. Smith, who became the deputy director at the Kansas Bureau of Investigation. One small problem — three years later, Smith would be charged with sexual exploitation of a child.”
  • “Now, Schmidt aims to become the governor, a post where more agencies and hires will be his responsibility, and his track record shows it isn’t something he does well; at the same time, he is endorsing Kris Kobach, yes, that Kris Kobach, to become the attorney general of Kansas and the effective head of the Kansas Bureau for Investigation.” 
  • “It looks like his first hire is already saying everything you need to know about life under a Schmidt administration.”

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