ABERDEEN, S.D. (AP) – A former South Dakota county prosecutor and a court advocate for juveniles and families have pleaded not guilty to charges in what authorities say is a witness tampering case. Former Brown County Deputy State’s Attorney Brandon Taliaferro faces four charges including witness tampering and obstructing a law officer. Advocate Shirley Schwab faces five charges including witness tampering and unauthorized disclosure of child abuse and neglect information. The prosecutor in the case, Beadle County States Attorney Michael Moore, says the charges stem from a case in which an abuse victim was influenced to give false testimony. He did not elaborate. The attorneys for Taliaferro and Schwab declined comment.
Taliaferro was fired last September after three years working with juvenile crime and abuse-and-neglect cases.