Former mistress of convicted pastor and former American Idol contestant likely won’t face criminal charges
UC Law professor and other legal experts weigh in with NBC News
A jury convicted Caleb Flynn, a former pastor and ‘American Idol’ contestant, guilty of several charges in the killing of his wife, but his mistress is unlikely to face criminal charges, reports NBC News.
Flynn’s 24-year-old mistress, Alleigha Botner, took the stand in his murder trial last week and admitted to several potential crimes she herself may have committed, according to NBC News. She deleted text messages, lied to the FBI and admitted she wanted Flynn’s wife, Ashley Flynn dead.
Ashley Flynn was a popular Tipp City, Ohio, volleyball coach, educator and mother, who was fatally shot in her bed in February. Prosecutors argued that Caleb Flynn, 40, shot his wife as she slept and then staged their home to look like a break-in before calling 911 and claiming an intruder was responsible.
NBC News in an online story quoted legal experts, who indicated that Botner will likely not face any criminal charges. She also said she was not promised anything by the prosecutor in exchange for her testimony, according to NBC News Cincinnati affiliate WLWT.
Mark Godsey, a criminal law professor in the Donald P. Klekamp College of Law at UC, was quoted in NBC News online explaining there also may be some kind of deal between Botner and prosecutors that will shield her from charges, even if she was not formally given immunity.
“It would be malpractice for her attorney to put her on the stand with zero protections,” said Godsey in the NBC News story. “It might be true that ‘promises’ were not made, but in my experience I think there is some sort of understanding that her testimony will help her and get leniency.”
Review the full NBC News segment online.
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