CHARLESTON — Kanawha County Commission President Ken Carper allegedly emailed a county employee several hours after he was reported to have exposed himself at a Charleston park in May.
WOWK-TV reported Carper sent an email May 15 to the girlfriend of the Charleston police officer who had responded to the complaint at Daniel Boone Park hours before.
In the e-mail, WOWK-TV reported, Carper asked her if she wanted to superintendent's job at Big Bend Golf Course.
The email recipient was an administrative assistant for County Commissioner Lance Wheeler. She had no experience managing a golf course that was known of and there was not a job posting opened for the job, the news agency reported.
Patrolman Hart Childress had responded to the park where a woman alleged Carper had exposed herself to him earlier that day.
The day after the incident, Carper was admitted to CAMC Memorial Hospital after suffering a heart attack and stroke and underwent quadruple bypass surgery.
Carper's daughter, Virginia Carper, made a public statement that the accusations against her father were a misunderstanding and suggested they were related to health issues.
“Unfortunately, an allegation of inappropriate conduct has been made against my father while he was apparently parked in a vehicle at or near Daniel Boone Park on Monday,” Virginia Carper said in the family statement. “My father’s illness and his apparent confusion have been misinterpreted as being something inappropriate."
Carper did not attend the June 22 county commission meeting as he is still recovering. But his attorney, Jesse Forbes, released a statement saying it would be premature and unfair to the public, police and county employees to address the reports without allowing the special prosecutor to complete their investigation.
“We are confident that the truth regarding the health issues Commissioner Carper has suffered and the details of what occurred on May 15, 2023, will be demonstrated as this matter is reviewed by the Special Prosecutor," Forbes said. "I look forward to cooperating with the Special Prosecutor through this process and will address these reports at the appropriate time but have no further comment at this time."
