Former Union County Clerk Brad Morris turned himself in Tuesday evening on charges of misconduct in office and embezzlement of public funds.
According to arrest warrants signed by State Law Enforcement, Morris, while acting as Union County Clerk, stole more than $200,000 for his personal use between January and October 2009. The warrant states Morris admitted to the theft. The 16th Circuit Solicitor's Office says the funds were taken from the child support account.
According to jail records, Morris was booked in at 6:05pm Tuesday and released 40 minutes later on a $30,000 surety bond.
Morris resigned from office in October after the solicitor asked SLED to conduct an audit of the county's child support account because of "irregularities".
Newly-appointed Union County Clerk Freddie Gault says the case will not cause anyone to miss a child support check.
"Child support money will not be affected by that," said Gault. He declined to answer as to whether had not the money had been repaid, citing an ongoing investigation.
"We've had some people make some bad choices and they'll have to deal with those choices," said Gault. "We still have to remember them in our prayers and remember their families."
Morris has not returned calls seeking comment. A woman who answered his home phone said "he is under a doctor's care". She declined to elaborate.
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